Undercover Life
by 88Ashley88
Summary: A Series of Undercover Honeymoon One-Shots
1. Always Be My Baby

**I mentioned in a Twitter group chat that I was thinking about doing a series of one-shots maybe based on things that you guys wanted to see in Undercover Honeymoon and didn't or maybe I'll mix it up. It all depends on if that's something that you guys would want to read or not.**

 **This is a missing one-shot from Undercover Honeymoon, with school starting back and me heading back to work, it sort of came to me one night.**

 **Anyway, I had this idea for awhile and thought I'd put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. Whatever the cool kids are saying today (Although I'm sure it's probably not "fingers to keyboard")**

 **I hope you like it.**

 **AN: I don't own anything having to do with Chicago PD or NBC.**

 **0000000000000000**

Jay stood in the doorway to Everly's room and watched her as she walked back and forth from her small bed to the table that was in her room.

Today was the day, his oldest was starting school.

Where had time gone?

It felt like just yesterday he'd first laid eyes on that little girl.

And just like that she was suddenly four and every bit the personality of her mother.

"You OK?" Erin asked as she walked up behind her husband and wrapped an arm around his back.

"Yeah" Jay assured as he looked at his wife and forced a smile.

"Do you think she's ready?" Erin asked exhaling as she tried to fight back tears.

"She's ready" Jay assured. "Where are the twins?"

"Down for a nap finally. The terrible twos are twice as bad with these two. They're smart, they know how to gang up on us" Erin yawned and ran a hand through her hair.

"Maybe we'll luck out with the next one" Jay teased as he reached down and laid his hand on Erin's stomach.

Erin looked down at Jay's hand on her stomach and then back up at him. "It's funny how a back massage turned into another baby"

Jay shrugged his shoulder and his smile grew as he looked at his wife. "I do have pretty good hands"

"You're an idiot" Erin laughed and looked down at her watch. "We better get going if you're going to drop her off before we go to work"

"I changed my mind. I think you should take her" Jay said.

"You said all week that you were going to take her because me crying would only upset her" Erin explained raising an eyebrow at her husband.

Jay nodded "That I did. But I got to thinking about her therapy sessions down the road and if this is going to be a traumatic moment for her...then I want her to have the memory of you leaving her. Not me"

"Jay!" Erin smacked his shoulder and shook her head. "Don't say things like that. If you don't thinks she's ready for this, maybe we can just keep her home for another year"

Jay wrapped his arm around Erin and pulled her to him. "No, you're right. She needs to go. God forbid that Hank have to hear about us not sending her to school. I mean, I'm still trying to work off the fact that I uprooted you and the kids and moved you down here to Virginia"

Erin smiled and shook her head "No, babe. You're still working off the fact that you married me. You've got a long way to go before you ever get that far down the list of things Hank is mad at you over"

"There's that Erin Halstead wit that I fell in love with" Jay sighed and followed Erin's gaze into Everly's room.

Erin laid her head on Jay's shoulder and sighed sadly. "I remember right after we brought her home from the hospital and I found you two dancing in the kitchen. I didn't think it was possible for me to be that happy. It made me heart ache, but in the best way possible"

Jay placed a kiss on top of Erin's head. "I remember that. It seemed like being a husband and a father was so far out of my reach and then I met you and I was in love from the moment I saw you. Even though it took you a little while to feel the same"

"Yeah yeah...I was worried about what Hank thought. I was worth the wait though" Erin mumbled.

"You were worth the wait" Jay agreed. "Besides without you I wouldn't have three...soon to be four of the best things in life"

"I just can't believe she's already four" Erin said her eyes still watching Everly.

"She's ready, Er. We've just got to be ready to let her go" Jay explained.

Erin nodded and exhaled a shaky breath. "Let's take our baby to school"

Erin walked the rest of the way into Everly's room with Jay behind her "Are you ready, Evie?"

Everly pulled her backpack off of her bed and looked at her mom and dad "Do I hafta go to preschool?"

Erin nodded and reached for Evie's hand "Aren't you excited for school? Remember how we went and bought you new clothes and a backpack?"

Everly looked over at her Disney Princess backpack and nodded "I do, I just not have friends"

"You're going to make friends, pumpkin" Erin explained "And you know Lucy, remember she used to babysit for Noah before he started school. Remember how she came here to visit and she told you about all the fun things that you were going to do at school?"

"Yes" Everly said "But...who is gonna help you with the babies?"

Erin smiled and looked at Everly "They'll be OK. They're going to stay here with the babysitter today"

"I'm gonna miss you" Everly said as she walked to Erin and wrapped her arms around Erin's neck.

Erin felt her eyes sting with unshed tears as Everly hugged her. Her pregnancy hormones weren't helping with her mix of emotions she felt about Everly starting school.

Erin looked over at Jay who pulled Everly in his arms so she wouldn't see Erin upset.

"You know what Everly?" Jay said.

"What daddy?" Everly asked as Jay pulled her up on his lap.

"They have so many fun things at preschool and you're going to get to learn all the things that Noah learned" Jay explained

"I will?" Everly asked.

Jay nodded "Preschool is such a cool place, there's only one problem"

"What?" Everly asked. Curious as to what her father was talking about.

"You have to be four years old to go to school" Jay said.

"I'm four years old!" Everly said proudly holding up four fingers.

"Then you get to go!" Jay said with excitement.

"Yay!" Everly said clapping her hands. "Let's go"

 **0000000000000000**

"This damn thing" Jay complained as he tried to focus his phone on Him, Erin and Everly so he could take their picture from their place in front of the school.

"Jay! Language" Erin sighed as she adjusted Everly on her lap.

"I got it" Jay said as he shifted for a comfortable spot on the bench in front of the school. "Say cheese"

"Cheese" Everly said behind a wide smile.

Jay snapped the picture and Everly quickly moved off the bench. "Let's go"

"Wait for us, Ev" Erin said as she stood from the bench and reached for Everly's hand.

Everly held her parents hands tightly as she ran into the classroom, dragging them behind her. "Come on guys hurry up."

"Slow down Everly," Erin warned her daughter placing a hand on her four month pregnant belly. "We're shaking the baby up in there." Everly looked at her mother skeptically and slowed down.

"Yeah," Jay grinned, sweeping his daughter up into his arms. "We didn't shake your little brains when you were a peanut in your mom's tummy." Everly giggled and wrapped her hands around Jay's neck.

"You're silly Daddy. I was never a peanut was I mommy?" Erin laughed and adjusted Everly's french braid.

"You weren't a real peanut, but that's how big you were."

"How big is the new baby?" Everly asked, turning towards her mother.

"Well," Erin rubbed her daughter's back. "The baby is about as big as a peanut right now." Everly furrowed her brows and looked down to her mother's swollen belly.

"Then how come your belly is so big?" Erin's jaw dropped and Jay began to laugh.

"Thanks Jay," she said sarcastically, running a hand over her belly self consciously.

"Don't listen to them," Lucy came up behind her, patting her belly gently. "I think you look beautiful. Very radiant." Erin wrapped her arm around Lucy's shoulder and gave Jay a mock glare.

"You see."

"I never said a word, Baby," Jay grinned moving to her side as he placed Everly on the floor. "Okay bug, are you ready?" Everly frowned again and took Lucy's hand.

"You're gonna stay with me right, Lucy?" Everly asked.

Lucy smiled and tugged the little girl's braid.

"I promise. Now why don't you say goodbye to Mommy and Daddy and go find the cubby hole and the hook with your name on them."

Everly returned to her parents and reached up.

"Bye Daddy," she sighed as Jay straightened her dress. "Are you gonna miss me?" Jay grinned and looked in her eyes.

"Every second of the day. Now give Daddy a kiss." Everly leaned forward and kissed him quickly on the cheek.

"I love you Daddy."

"Love you too sweetheart, you have a good day and behave for Lucy."

Everly nodded and reached over for Erin who lifted her out of Jay's arms and squeezed her tight. "Have a good day baby," Erin sighed sadly. "I'll be here to pick you up right after school, okay?" Everly nodded and released her hold on Erin's neck.

"Don't be sad Mommy. I'll only be gone for a few hours, right Lucy?" Lucy nodded and placed a hand on Erin's shoulder. "I promise I'll be good and I'm gonna paint a picture for you and Daddy, okay?" Erin nodded and ran a hand over her daughter's tiny back.

"Okay baby, I'll hang it up on the fridge." Everly nodded and slid out of Erin's arms to the floor. "I love you Everly."

Everly took Erin's hand and kissed it softly. "Remember, it's not Lucy when you're at school, it's Miss Huston."

"I love you too Mommy and I remember." She smiled and placed a gentle kiss on Erin's belly. "Bye bye baby. You be nice to Mommy today, she's not feeling well." Erin grinned and took Jay's hand.

"Bye Mommy, bye Daddy." With that she ran off to find her cubby hole. "I'm gonna go find my damn cubby"

"Everly Katherine! We don't say that" Erin scolded.

"Daddy said it" Everly explained as she once again waved bye to her parents and walked into the classroom.

Erin turned and looked at her husband and sighed "Jay, is there anything else you'd like to teach our four year old before we leave?"

"Nope, I think that pretty much covers it" Jay said before he smiled.

"It's not funny, I'm sorry, Lucy. If she spreads that word around. Be sure to give them Jay's number at work. Angry parents can talk to him" Erin explained.

"She'll be fine you two, I promise. You've left her in my capable hands before. This time I'm teaching her in a more official capacity." She leaned over and hugged Erin.

Erin smiled and moved to Jay's side, as they watched Everly talking to a little boy beside her.

"That kid is dead," Jay deadpanned as Erin laughed and hit his shoulder.

"Relax Jay," she grinned. "She's too young to know she owns him."

Jay was unimpressed as he took her hand and led her out of the room, taking one last look at their baby girl on her first day of school.

Erin and Jay walked out of the school hand in hand and over to their car. They buckled their seatbelts and Erin checked her phone.

"Everything OK?" Jay asked.

"Yeah, everything is fine. My meeting got cancelled so I have some time before I have to be at work"

"Funny, I have some time before I have to be at work too" Jay said as he too checked the time.

"Well, since we both have time, what should we do?" Erin asked with a signature raise of her brow.

"I could think of something" Jay's voice trailed off as he started the car.

"Pancakes?" Erin asked her voice full of hope.

"Pancakes" Jay said as he reached for her hand and drove out of the parking lot.

 **~*The End*~**


	2. Cleaning This Gun

**Cleaning This Gun**

 **000000000000000000**

"You'll have to ask you father," Jay heard Erin say as the garage door slammed. Jay turned to look at Kane who raised his head up off his paws and yawned before laying his head back down on his paws. Jay just shrugged. Caleb soon entered the living room followed by his daughters Everly, Arden and Nora, and Erin.

"Good luck with this one, Dad," Caleb laughed, racing up the stairs, and presumably out of firing range. Uh oh.

"Shut up, Caleb" Everly called after her younger brother.

"Daddy," Everly squealed, bounding over to him and plopping herself down beside him on the couch.

"Everly," Jay grinned, a bit surprised by the affection his teenage daughter was showing, but accepting it nonetheless.

"Everly," Erin scolded, "Are you going to ask your dad what you asked me?."

Nora, Erin and Jay's youngest, laughed as she looked at her older sister always finding it somewhat amusing when either of her older siblings got into trouble. Everly sighed and rolled her eyes at her mother, facing her father.

"Hey girls, come help me in the kitchen," Erin motioned as she led ten year old Nora into the kitchen, wanting Everly and Jay to have their privacy.

"I'm good, mom. I'd rather see this," Arden waved. Ignoring her mother's request.

"I'm making cookies," Erin called.

Arden jumped up from her seat and made a beeline for the kitchen. "Good luck, Ev."

Jay sighed and shook his head before turning his attention to his oldest daughter. "You want to clue me in to what's going on?"

"Well," Everly sighed, her gaze cast down to the couch cushions as she spoke quickly, "You know Louie? Gaby and Matt's oldest son? We were at school today and you know the cheerleaders, they always wear the football players jersey's on Friday's. Well, Louie asked me if I'd like to wear his. And you know me dad...I don't want to be left out, so I told him yes. But..."

"But what?" Jay asked.

"Louie asked me out for Friday night. Is it ok if I go?" Everly asked.

Silence.

"Dad?" she asked, looking up to see Jay with a stunned expression on his face. She was half afraid she'd given him a stroke or something. "Daddy?"

"Um," Jay muttered, shaking himself and forcing words out of his mouth, "Who?"

"Louie Casey, dad."

"Do...d...do...do I know Louie?" he asked, still trying to wrap his head around the idea of his baby girl _dating_.

"Yes dad, you know Louie Casey," Not quite wrapping her mind around her father's sudden stupidity

"He's not a Sophomore" Jay said shaking his head

"No dad, he's not. He's older. He's a senior"

Jay felt his heart heart racing. He was almost sure he was going to need an ambulance. An _OLDER_ boy. He stood up and began to pace.

"A senior, Everly? Are you serious right now. That makes him what? 19...20?"

Another huffy sigh. "20? He's a senior, Dad. Not a senior citizen"

Jay choked. "Everly, you are 15 years old!"

Jumping up from the couch, Everly cried, " Oh my God, I knew you'd freak out about this! What's the big deal? Grandpa Hank even said you'd freak out about this."

"Well what does your Grandpa Hank even know?" Jay shot.

"Enough to be right about you and how you'd react" Everly said folding her hands over her chest. "It's not that big of a deal"

"It is a big deal, ok?" Jay explained, fighting the urge to flat out say no. But that's what he wanted to do.

Actually, he wanted to send her away to some sort of all girls school in Switzerland, but he knew Erin would never agree to it.

Everly shook her head and ran a hand up to run through her dark hair. "Dad, I'm 15, I've done more than enough to prove that I'm mature enough to go on a date. It's not like it's some strange guy. Don't you know there are kids my age having sex?"

"You're not helping your case, Everly" Jay said running a hand over his face.

"You don't trust me, dad?" Everly asked.

"Of course I trust you, it's just...," Jay's voice trailed off. He wasn't able to find the words for how he was feeling in this moment.

"Dad, he's like, the most popular guy in school!"

Sometimes he wondered if his daughter spent too much time with her trash mouth friends. Jay scoffed, "Again, that's supposed to make me feel better?."

Everly groaned. "You just don't get it! You don't understand anything about what it's like to be cool" she snapped, turning to leave and go up to her room.

"Everly, wait," he sighed. She turned to look back at him, eyes blazing. She definitely had Erin's temper.

"I do get it. Everly, you have to understand... you're my little girl."

"But I'm not a little girl anymore, dad" she said softly, the fire in her eyes fading as quickly as it had come.

"I know, Ev," Jay said with a sad smile. "Your mom and I will talk about this later"

"Really?" Everly smiled. Showing off the dimples she'd inherited from her mother.

Jay shuddered. "Yes"

Everly nodded and looked away from Jay to where Kane had moved by her legs.

She reached down and petted the old dog on the head.

At least someone was on her side.

"Do we have a deal?" Jay asked

Everly sighed. Honestly, she couldn't really say she was surprised about this. Her parents hardly ever decided on anything without the other's opinion, unless absolutely necessary. "Alright, deal."

"Can you give your old man a hug?" Jay asked.

Everly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her father.

"I've got homework" Everly said as she started to pull away from Jay.

Jay watched Everly move out of his arms and head up the stairs to her room.

With a heavy sigh, he headed into the kitchen where Arden was beating the chocolate chips Nora was adding into the cookie dough.

"A date?" Jay groaned rather pathetically.

"Dad, I'm proud of you. We didn't have to come pick you up off the floor." Arden teased as she looked at her father.

Jay shot Arden a look and the young girl looked away from her father and took his silent look as a cue to not press her luck.

"Everly has a boyfriend," Nora informed him with a smug smile.

"Nora" Arden said as she looked at her little sister. "It's not the time"

Erin smirked at her daughters as she slid the pan of cookies into the oven. "Jay...we both knew that this day would come one day."

"Yeah one day," Jay said, "One day as when we're both dead and gone. You know when Everly is fifty and has a lot of cats."

Nora snapped her head up and smiled, "Oh, I love cats, can we get a cat?!"

"We're not getting a cat, stupid" Arden shook her head and slid off of the stool in the kitchen.

"I'm not stupid, you're stupid" Nora said.

"Girls!" Jay said "Can you give your mother and me some privacy?"

Arden helped Nora off the stool and the two made their way out of the kitchen.

"I never get to see the good stuff" Nora sighed.

"Join the club" Arden said as the two walked out of the kitchen.

"Do you not have anything to say about this?" Jay asked as he looked at his wife.

"Jay what do we do?, We can't just lock her away in the attic" Erin busied herself with loading the dishwasher as she talked to her husband..

"Worked in the old days," Jay shrugged. "And why does Hank know about this before I did?"

"He picked them up from school today" Erin explained.

"I knew no good would come from moving back to Chicago" Jay sighed."I was that age, I know what boys like that want. And let's not get started on your teenage years"

Erin looked over her shoulder at her husband and raised her eyebrow "You wanna go there?"

Jay groaned and buried his face in his hands. Erin rolled her eyes and sighed.

She just shook her head and started the dishwasher before turning back to her husband. "Jay, it's just a date."

"With an _older boy_ , Erin," he groaned.

"It's Louie Casey. He plays football and is in the National Honor Society. We know his parents, I think we can trust him to take her out for the night ."

"She set you up for the guilt trip," Jay said, "How am I supposed to feel OK about this? I just feel like puking and driving over to the Casey's and killing that kid for even looking at our daughter."

Erin sighed and crossed the kitchen, wrapping her arms around him. And Jay instantly relaxed, even after all these years, this woman could calm him like no other.

"Everly's growing up. Like it or not, we've got to accept the fact that she's not a baby anymore. We just have to trust that we've done enough to lead her the way she should go."

Jay sighed and pulled back to look at Erin "If I say yes, we're sending the kids to Hank and Olivia's and you're going to ease my worries with so much sex, right?."

Erin smiled and wrapped her arms around Jay's neck "So much sex, baby"

Jay raised his brow and leaned his head down to kiss his wife in a long slow kiss.

"Oh God, nobody wants to see that" Caleb groaned as he walked into the kitchen.

 **000000000000000000**

Jay looked up at the clock as the doorbell rang.

7:01pm

Little bastard was late.

Jay heard the sound of another voice fill living room and he soon heard Erin's footsteps down the hall coming closer to the home office where he was currently sitting.

"Jay, he's here. Do you want to come out and see him?" Erin asked.

"Do I WANT to see him?" Jay asked looking away from Erin and down at what he was currently doing.

Erin folded her arms over her chest and raised her brow at her husband.

Jay didn't need to look up to feel Erin's heated gaze upon him. "Fine"

Erin shook her head as she looked at her husband "Don't get stupid on me, Jay. And put your gun away, there's no need for you to be cleaning it"

Jay watched as Erin walked down the hall and he rolled his eyes as he stood up to follow her.

Jay walked down the hall and saw Erin moving to the stairs

"Where are you going?" Jay asked.

"To get Everly. Go be nice" Erin said gesturing to the living room where Louie was standing.

Jay watched as Erin went up the steps and he rounded the corner to the living room where Louie Casey stood.

"Mr. Halstead" Louie greeted as he walked over to Jay and extended his hand.

"Louie" Jay said.

"How are you doing tonight, sir?" Louie asked.

"Just great. How are you?" Jay asked.

"I'm a little nervous. It's not every day you get to take out the most beautiful girl in the world" Louie said sheepishly.

"She's OK" Jay said.

Louie and Jay stood in awkward silence for a moment before Louie spoke.

"Mr. Halstead, I really like your daughter a lot, She's funny, she's smart, she's beautiful and is a friend to everyone. I know that you're worried about my intentions, but I promise you they're nothing but genuine. You have my word, I respect Everly and you and your wife and I wouldn't do anything to hurt her"

Jay nodded "That's good to know"

Louie nodded and he looked over Jay's shoulder and his smile grew when he saw Everly come into view.

Everly's long dark hair was pulled up into a pony tail and she wore jeans and a pink tank top.

"Hi" Everly said with a smile. Her eyes locked on Louie's

"Hi" Louie said as he stepped past Jay and over to Everly. "You look pretty"

"Thank you" Everly said.

Erin came around the corner and leaned against the doorframe.

"You guys better get going if you're going to make it to your movie on time" Erin said.

Louie looked down at his watch and then at Everly. "She's right"

"Well, we'll be back" Everly said.

"Curfew's at 8" Jay said.

"Jay" Erin started. "Be home by 11"

Erin and Jay watched as Everly and Louie made their way out of the house and Jay moved to the window and looked through the blinds.

"Jay!" Erin said.

"He opened the car door for her? Who does this kid think he is?" Jay asked.

"I don't know...a gentleman?" Erin asked.

"I don't like him" Jay said simply.

Erin rolled her eyes and moved to her husband's side. "Jay stop"

Jay watched through the blinds as Louie's car drove off down the road. "He didn't signal that he was merging into traffic"

"Traffic? Jay, it's a cul-de-sac" Erin sighed. "You know I thought we had a deal"

"A deal?" Jay asked as he looked out the blinds.

"Yeah...the kids go to Hank's for the night and I take your mind off of things..."

Jay felt Erin run her fingers down his back and around to his side.

He pulled back from the blinds suddenly remembering their "deal"

"You did promise that didn't you?" Jay asked as he pulled her to him and raised a hand to brush her hair out of her face.

"Yeah" Erin said as she stood up on her tiptoes. "So what can I do to clear your mind for a few hours?"

"Well..." Jay said as he pulled Erin closer to him and kissed her.

Erin wrapped her arms tighter around Jay's neck and she felt something hard and cold against her stomach.

She pulled back from the kiss and looked down at her husband.

"Jay!" Erin said as she pulled his shirt up to reveal the small handgun nestled in his jeans.

"What? It was just for fun"

Erin scoffed and moved out of her husband's arms.

"He'll know to have her home by 11" Jay called.

 **000000000000000000**


	3. Sweet Child of Mine

**Sweet Child of Mine**

 **000000000000**

"But I wanna pway tea party" Everly's face turned into a frown as she started to cry as Jay picked her up off of the floor.

"Do you want a spanking?" Jay asked. Frustrated beyond measure at what a day from hell parenting had been today.

"No, I wanna pway tea party" Everly said as she wiped her tears away.

"Well, we're not going to play tea party, we're going to go to bed" Jay said as he sat Everly down on her bed.

"I want mommy" Everly cried as she moved away from Jay and against the wall her bed was laying against.

"Mommy is with your brother and sister. They're sick, they both got the flu from you, little miss. I'm sorry, I'm all you have tonight" Jay explained as he reached for the book on Everly's table and took a seat by her bed.

"NO! Not dat story" Everly said as she crawled over Jay and ran over to her book shelf.

"Everly, find a book or we're not going to do a story" Jay threatened. Fully in the middle of his oldest daughter's routine of stalling her bedtime.

"Dis one" Everly said running back to Jay with a book in her tiny hands.

Jay pulled Everly into bed and got her under the covers. They quickly went through her nightly routine of prayers and a story and Everly getting out of her toddler bed four times before Jay finally got three year old to sleep.

Jay pulled the door to Everly's room closed and went to check on the twins who were now fast asleep the smell of VapoRub and the sound of the humidifier filled the nursery.

After he left the nursery he walked into the master bedroom to where Erin was laying face down in the bed. A towel wrapped around her body from her shower.

Jay closed the door behind him and leaned against it. "Remember how excited we were when Everly started talking?"

"I wouldn't talk about her, she and the twins are probably on the other side of the door having a tea party and laughing at us" Erin sighed.

She turned her head as she felt Jay's weight on the bed and his strong hands start to knead the flesh of her back.

Erin groaned as she felt her muscles start to loosen from the work of Jay's hands. She felt herself starting to drift off as Jay hands moved down her back and started to work their way up her legs and slowly under her towel.

"Jay!" Erin raised her head up off the pillows and looked over her shoulder at her husband. "Not even"

Jay leaned over Erin and placed a kiss on her shoulder before he nuzzled her neck. "You smell good"

Erin shook her head "It's the first time in three days I haven't smelled like someones throw up"

"Mmmm you're talking sexy, baby" Jay teased as he laughed against her neck and started to kiss his way down her shoulder and back.

"Jay, please. I'm tired" Erin explained as she rolled over on her back and looked up at her husband who braced himself on his arms over her.

"You think that's going to stop me?" Jay asked raising an eyebrow.

Jay lowered himself down on top of Erin careful not to crush her with his weight as he brushed a wet strand of hair out of her face.

Erin groaned softly when she felt Jay's other hand reach between them and start to loosen her towel. The evidence of just how much the man she loved wanted her was making itself known against her thigh.

"How is it you always get what you want?" Erin asked as she started to pull at the bottom of Jay's shirt.

"Just lucky I guess" Jay teased as he pulled away from Erin long enough to rid himself of his shirt and laid back down on top of her and kissed her.

 **000000000000**

Erin looked up from the table from where she way paying bills, to where Everly and the twins were playing, she looked at the clock on the wall and made a mental note that she needed to start dinner soon so it would be ready by the time Jay got home. Erin looked back at her laptop to finish paying bills when she looked at the calendar and realized what the date was. She quickly counted backwards, trying to figure out if she had gone wrong somewhere, but realized she hadn't.

"Shit." Erin groaned as memories of her lust filled encounter with her husband filled her mind.

Maybe it was just the stress of work, though. Erin wasn't going to jump to conclusions. She'd been dealing with a case of two kids who were found beaten and locked in a bedroom for days unattended, and it had really taken it's toll on her both as a detective and as a mother.

Erin looked ran a hand through her hair and side, she couldn't be pregnant. Not again...could she?

The sound of a a small body falling to the floor followed by a wail caused Erin to jump from the table and run into the living room where Arden and Everly were standing around a sobbing Caleb.

"Mama" The almost two year old called as he held his arms up for Erin to take him.

Erin lifted her son up off the floor and looked at Everly. "What happened?"

"He fall down" Everly explained. "He jump off his Paw Patrol chair"

Erin placed a gentle kiss on Caleb's head and sat down on the couch with him as she started to examine the toddler for any sign of injury.

"My mommy" Arden said as she tried to push Caleb off of Erin's lap.

Caleb quieted down for a few seconds and slid off of Erin's lap only long enough to walk over to his twin sister and push her down to the ground. Arden's cries filled the living room as she laid down on the carpet.

"Caleb Henry. You don't do that" Erin scolded as she gave Caleb a smack on the back of his diaper and jean covered bottom.

Erin lifted Arden off the floor and sat with her on the couch as Caleb ran to her and tried to fight for a spot on her lap.

Erin sighed as she adjusted Arden on her lap and pulled Caleb up on her other leg as the two held onto her and cried.

Erin looked around the room and suddenly realized Everly was missing.

"Everly!" Erin called.

"Mommy!" Everly's sweet voice called.

"Where are you?" Erin called back.

"In da potty" Everly yelled back.

"Are you going potty by yourself?" Erin asked.

"No. Me making Kaney pwetty" Everly called back.

Erin stood from the couch a still crying Caleb and Arden on each hip and she walked down the hall to the bathroom where Everly stood in the bathroom.

"Oh no" Erin groaned as she looked at her oldest daughter who stood beside their German Shepherd, who was covered in a mix of bubble bath paint and the hairbows that Everly could reach from the sink.

 **000000000000**

The next day, Erin stopped at the pharmacy on the way home from work and bought a pregnancy test. She planned on waiting until Jay got home so they could find out the results together.. She didn't want to disappoint him if the result was negative. They hadn't even talked about having another baby, but then again they kept up with true Halstead child fashion with neither one of Erin's pregnancies being "planned" so Erin wasn't sure how they'd deal with either result. Would they try again if she wasn't?

Things with both of their jobs were really good and it was the first time in a long time neither of them was worried about money.

When Jay got home, Erin sighed in relief. He hugged the kids and then kissed his wife. Jay didn't even get a chance to ask what they were having for dinner before Erin was dragging him into the bathroom. "Okay, what's going on?"

Erin answered by whipping out the pregnancy tests. "This. Your wonderful little massage has led to this."

Jay looked down at the test before his lips turned into a wide smile. "Erin, you're pregnant?"

Erin sighed and shrugged her shoulder. "I might be – I'm late and you know how exhausted I've been. I just blamed it on the stress at work and the kids."

"Well, don't panic until you take the test" Jay couldn't hide the fact that he was excited to find out the results. He loved being a father and adding a fourth child would be fun.

Erin rolled her eyes and found herself smiling at Jay's excitement. "Fine then. Leave and I'll take it. Plus, we're idiots leaving three toddlers out there unattended."

"Erin, you're my wife. Why do I need to go?"

"OUT!" Erin said pointing to the door.

Jay walked out of the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He walked down the hall to the living room where Caleb, Arden and Everly were quietly playing with the toy kitchen.

Jay took a seat on the couch and laid his head back on the couch and closed his eyes. A few moments later he felt a set of tiny hands slap against his lap.

Jay opened his eyes and saw his son looking back at him and he reached down and pulled him into his lap. "What's up, buddy?"

"Egg" Caleb said holding the plastic egg in the pan for his daddy.

"Yum, just how daddy likes it" Jay took the egg out of the plastic pan and pretended to eat it as Caleb's giggles filled the living room.

Erin walked out of the bathroom and Jay's gaze rose to meet hers.

A simple nod was all she gave before she smiled and Jay smiled back at her as he stood from the couch and walked over to her pulling her into his arms and giving her a kiss on the lips.

Erin pulled back from the kiss and looked at her husband before making a silly face at Caleb. "We're having another baby, Jay."

"You hear that buddy? You're going to be a big brother!" Jay tickled Caleb's belly before pulling Erin back into his arms and hugging her again.

"So, three unplanned pregnancies. Just so you know, There's not going to be a fourth," she warned. Four kids were enough, especially since she and Jay were already outnumbered.

"But a fifth would make it fun.…" he trailed off at her glare. "… but an even number of kids seems fair"

"How do you feel about this?" Erin knew how she felt, but she just wanted to make sure that her husband felt the same way.

"Erin, I'm so excited. I know it wasn't planned, but when do we plan anything? Besides, we make beautiful babies."

 **000000000000**

"And we're at ten," the doctor said softly, looking up to meet both pairs of eyes staring down at him. "We're just about ready for you start pushing, okay?"

Nodding, Erin wrapped her hand around Jay's squeezing it softly.

"Okay, push on the next contraction…one, two, three…" Dr. Redgrave started counting as the contraction hit and Erin started to push. Getting to ten, Erin relaxed a little, getting her breathing under control.

Pushing again, she gripped Jay's hand tighter, concentrating on the counting instead of the smile she knew was on Jay's face.

Erin kept pushing for the next fifteen minutes and groaned when she felt the all too familar feeling of her baby crowning.

"Great job, You're a pro at this Erin.…rest for a second."

Feeling Jay disengage his hand from hers to go look, she pushed when she was told to and heard Jay laugh slightly.

"What?" She asked when she stopped again, a little irritated at him.

"Sorry, right now is just when I'd be panicking that her ear was upside down if I didn't know she was coming face first," he explained, touching Erin's knee softly.

"Oh," she said laughing a little herself. "You can see her ear?"

"Uh huh, about half of it anyway."

"You can hold the mirror up for her to see, Jay," the doctor offered as Jay took it from one of the nurses and held it up for her.

"Can you see her, honey?"

"Uh huh," Erin answered, smiling softly and feeling the tears fill her eyes.

Waiting for the nurse to check and find the baby's heartbeat with a hand Doppler, when she smiled and nodded as the strong sound filled the air. "Sounds very strong."

"Good, good…you ready, Erin?" The doctor asked again, delivering the head on the next hard push.

"Oh wow," Jay said with a smile as Dr. Redgrave cleaned the baby's airway out and checked to make sure the umbilical cord wasn't around her neck.

Watching as she rotated to the right, Jay glanced back up at Erin before Dr. Redgrave caught his attention again.

"You going to deliver the rest of her, Jay?" He asked, looking up from his chair.

"What?"

"I take that as a no," he said smiling.

"That was a joke…right?"

"Actually no, I've had father's before that helped to deliver the rest of their baby after the head was out."

"Oh…well that's what you get paid to do. I'm good thanks. I'll just watch," Jay said laughing before smiling up at Erin as she prepared to push again. "Plus she told me she'd never let me deliver her baby…I think that still applies," he said softly, looking up and winking at his wife.

Laughing slightly at them, he got serious again and looked up at Erin, "Okay now…just gentle pushing."

"You alright?" Jay asked, not sure if she wanted him back up there with her instead of watching.

Seeing her nod slightly as she controlled a steady, soft push, Jay watched as her little shoulders dislodged one by one and was soon followed by the rest of her little body.

"Oh God, it is a girl," Jay said as the doctor laid her onto Erin's chest.

"She is?" Erin asked, grinning at Jay's reaction.

"Uh huh, a big girl."

"She's so beautiful," Erin said sniffling as she cradled the back of her little head.

Kissing Erin's head, Jay looked back down at his little girl, "She sure is."

"She's bigger than Everly and the twins were," Erin said softly, brushing her fingers against the baby's head.

"I think so too," Jay agreed, offering his finger to his little girl. Jay smiled as the 8lb, 9oz baby girl with chocolate brown hair and brown eyes grasped onto his finger tightly

"What do you think guys? Is this the last time I'm going to see you in a delivery room?" Dr. Redgrave said, smiling softly.

"Yes!" Erin and Jay both said in unison as they looked down at the new life they'd created together.

"That's what everyone says," he teased with a laugh.

Erin placed another kiss on the baby's head and groaned slightly at the discomfort she felt as the doctor gave her a shot in the thigh to help her body deliver the placenta.

The baby started started to make soft infant grunts against Erin's chest and she smiled as she listened to the sweet sound.

"You did so good, baby. I'm so proud of you" Jay praised as he looked down at his wife.

"You're a great coach" Erin said as she looked up at her husband. "I love you"

"I love you too, Erin. So much"

Waiting until after the umbilical cord stopped pulsing, Dr. Redgrave clamped it off and handed the scissors over to Jay. Cutting it, Jay smiled at Erin once again.

After taking the baby to get cleaned up, the nurse quickly brought her back over and helped Erin adjust her gown so that the newest addtion to the Halstead family could benefit from skin to skin contact.

Jay watched as Erin placed a kiss on the baby's head and he leaned down as Erin then tilted her head up to give him a long slow kiss on the lips.

Jay pulled back from the kiss and looked down at the baby on Erin's chest and her gently touched his newest daughter's back.

"Welcome to the world, Nora Grace Halstead. Thanks for making our family complete"


	4. All This Time I Was Waiting For You

**So this one shot is set around chapter 11 of Undercover Honeymoon. It's after Erin is released from the hospital after her attack on the ship and focuses on Jay taking care of her in the aftermath of her stabbing and before she started having her panic attacks.**

 **I hope that you like it.**

 **000000000000000000**

"We're almost there, just a few more steps" Jay said as he and Erin walked from the elevator to her apartment.

Erin leaned against the wall outside of her apartment as Jay gor her keys and opened the door. It was the first time since she'd left for the ship and since her attack that she'd been home and she couldn't wait to sleep in her own bed.

It was also the first time that she'd be coming back to the apartment with her partner, Jay Halstead, as her official boyfriend.

Talk about a crazy week.

"Ok, easy does it" Jay said as he opened the door and adjusted one of Erin's bags on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her and walked her slowly over to the couch.

Erin winced as she slowly sat down onto the soft cushions of the couch and she laid her head back against the back of it and closed her eyes. It was almost time for her pain medicine and all she wanted to do was take it and go to sleep.

It had been a long day of traveling to and from the airport and a flight from Florida to Chicago wasn't helping her in her recovery.

"I'm going to go down and get the rest of your bags, are you going to be ok for a few minutes?" Jay asked as he looked at his girlfriend

"I'll be fine" Erin assured as she waved him off without opening her eyes.

"Alright" Jay said quietly as he walked out the door and shut it behind him.

Erin opened her eyes as she took in the silence of her apartment. Everything was just how she had left it, but yet everything seemed so different.

Erin's gaze turned towards the paperwork that was sitting beside her on the couch. She picked it up and began to skim through it looking at her list of post op appointments and discharge instructions, she knew that Hank would be by as soon as his flight got in and she almost dread the thought of it because she knew he'd force her to go and stay with him at his house.

That was the last thing she wanted, if the rattling in the wind window wouldn't let her get any rest, she knew that Hank checking in on her every 30 seconds would be just as bad.

She was an adult woman, she was perfectly able to take care of herself after her surgery. She didn't want her attack to be an inconvience to anyone. Especially since Hank was already blaming Jay for what had happened with Mike Lane.

But the truth was, it was nobody's fault. And Erin hated the fact that Hank was insistant on Jay being accountable for it. It was her own fault for not going straight back to the room and if anyone was going to be blamed for it, it was her actions that caused the attack.

Erin put the papers down and slowly stood up from the couch and she groaned as the dull pain radiated through her abdomen and all over her body, she held onto the couch as she started to make her way over to the kitchen so that she could take her pain medication and get something to drink.

She'd almost made it when the door to the apartment opened and Jay walked in.

"Erin?" Jay called when he saw the spot where she'd been sitting on the couch empty.

"I'm right here" Erin answered as she made it to her kitchen island and grabbed onto it.

Jay walked around the corner and sat their bags down on the floor as he walked over to her.

"I told you that I would help you with that, you need to be resting" Jay explained.

"I know that, but Jay, I don't need you to treat me like I'm glass, I'm fine" Erin assured as she grabbed her perscription bag and opened it.

"But..." Jay started.

"No buts...I don't need you or Hank to stay here. I'm fine" Erin assured.

"So you're going to clean your own wounds and shower and dress yourself every day until you get the all clear to go back to work?" Jay asked.

"I know how to take care of myself. I've been doing it since before you could probably tie your shoes" Erin narrowed her brow at Jay before she slowly walked past him and made her way over to the fridge to grab a water so she could take her pills.

The sound of a key in the door and footsteps alerted Erin and Jay that Hank was indeed, back in Chicago.

"You ready, kid?" Hank asked as he walked into the open area of the apartment.

"No, I'm not going" Erin said as she put her pills in her mouth and took a long swallow of water to rinse them down.

"Erin, we've already talked about this" Hank said "The only reason you came back with Jay was so that you could get your stuff packed to come to my place"

"I didn't agree to anything, you're the one who dictated what I'm going to do" Erin grumbled as she walked back over to the couch.

"Why aren't you packed yet?" Hank asked "Your flight got in this morning"

"Because I had to wait on my medicine and Jay took me to get me something to eat" Erin answered as she took a seat on her couch.

"You couldn't just bring her home like I asked you to?" Hank asked as he narrowed his gaze at Jay. "I gave you a direct order, Jay"

"I know that, but she was in pain and she needed to eat. I thought that you'd be happy that she'd finally eaten something since she wouldn't eat in the hospital" Jay defended.

"There's always an excuse with you when it comes to Erin, isn't there?" Hank asked "I knew I should've just brought her home myself. I can't trust you to protect her, let alone get her home and do the one thing I asked you to do"

"Don't even start, we're not at work so if you need to say something, just say it" Jay shot as he took a step towards Hank.

"Don't press your luck with me, Jay." Hank warned.

"Would the two of you PLEASE just stop...stop" Erin pleaded "I'm so tired of hearing about it every single day. It was an accident and nobody is to blame, if you two can't be civil to each other, please just do me a favor and get the hell out of my apratment"

Hank and Jay looked at each other for a moment and the tense feeling in the room started to lessen.

"I'll pack you a bag" Hank said as he started to walk towards Erin's bedroom.

"No, I'm not going to your house, Hank" Erin said again "I want to stay here and be in my own home"

"Erin, I can't stay here, you know that" Hank said as he tried to reason with her.

"I'll stay with her" Jay said.

"The hell you will" Hank said as he turned around to look at Jay. "You already got her attacked, I'm sure as hell not going to let you get her pregnant too"

"Hank!" Erin said once again. "Nothing is going to happen. Jay can sleep on the couch"

Hank looked between Erin and Jay and he knew it was an arguement that he wasn't going to win.

Why did everything have to be changing? Why couldn't Erin and Jay have just followed simple rules to not get involved at work? He didn't understand it.

"Fine" Hank said, as he tossed his hands up in the air.

Erin smiled for the first time since she'd gotten home and she laid her head back against the couch. "Thank you"

Hank watched as Erin laid her head back against the couch and closed her eyes. His gaze followed Jay as he moved into the kitchen and started to put away a few groceries that he and Erin had stopped and bought after they landed in Chicago.

Hank looked back at Erin before looking at Jay and lowering his voice "Can I trust you with this Jay? Can I leave here knowing that she's going to be OK in your care?"

Jay looked over his shoulder at Erin and then to Hank, "Yes"

"Alright" Hank said "I'll call later. Answer the phone, don't make me come all the way back over here"

 **000000000000000000**

Jay stirred the pot of soup that he made before pouring some into a bowl and carrying the tray over to the couch where Erin was resting. Jay sat the tray down on the table and looked at Erin and he smiled sadly.

She was starting to get some of her color back, but the dark circles under her eyes didn't hide what her body had been through over the last week. Jay couldn't help the guilt that he felt as he looked at her. Even though he knew what happened wasn't his fault, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

Jay reached his hand out and brushed Erin's hair across her face and he smiled sadly as he watched her eyes flutter open.

"Hey" Jay said with a smile "Are you hungry?"

Erin tilted her head into Jay's hand and focused her heavy gaze on him.

"How long was I asleep?" Erin asked as she looked down and noticed that the lower half of her body was covered with a blanket.

"About two hours" Jay said looking at the clock on the wall.

"I'm sorry" Erin frowned as she moved to sit up "I didn't mean to fall asleep"

Jay shook his head as he helped Erin sit up on the couch.

"Thank you" Erin said as Jay helped her get comfortable on the couch and she watched as he reached over and picked up the dinner tray and sat it down on her lap.

Erin looked down at the soup and over at Jay who sat down next to her. "Did you make this?"

Jay nodded and smiled as he watched Erin lift up a spoon and take a bite of the potato soup.

"This is good" Erin said as she swallowed the hot liquid down her throat.

"Thank you" Jay smiled "My mom always thought that it was imprortant for my brother and sister and I to learn how to cook for ourselves"

"She taught you well" Erin said with a smile. "You made this homemade?"

Jay nodded as he watched Erin eat. "Are you surprised?"

Erin shrugged her shoulders and gave a small smile "Nothing surprises me about you"

Erin took another bite of her soup and looked at Jay. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Jay nodded "Yeah, I just wanted you to get situated first"

Erin watched Jay get up and walk back into the kitchen a few minutes later he came back over to the couch and sat down next to her. The two ate quietly and watched TV and once they were done Jay washed the dishes and put the leftover soup away before he made his way back over to Erin.

"You ready for bed?" Jay asked.

"I'd like to shower first...Do you think...that..." Erin's voice trailed off.

"You want me to help you?" Jay asked his lips turning into a small smile.

"You don't have to say it like a pervert" Erin teased as she moved to stand up and frowned as she realized that her pain medicine had worn off.

"Let me help you" Jay said as he watched Erin struggle to stand up.

"No!" Erin shook her head and slapped Jay's hand away.

Erin instantly realized that she wasn't going to be able to stand unassisted and she looked back up at Jay and reached for his hand.

Jay helped Erin up off the couch and they moved to the bathroom. Erin looked at the sink and saw that Jay had already laid her some pajamas out. She smiled, in spite of the pain her body was feeling and she turned to look at her boyfriend.

"Were you just expecting me to ask you to join me?" Erin asked gesturing down towards the small pile of Jay's own pajamas that were beside Erin's

Jay slightly blushed as he looked at Erin "Can't say I wasn't hoping that you would ask me"

Erin reached in and turned the water on "You're not going to try to play scrabble with me, are you?"

Jay laughed and shook his head "Perfect gentleman, remember?"

"Yeah, sure" Erin said as she turned the water on.

"I'm going to go get your medicine, so hopefully by the time you're done in the shower, it will have taken the edge off of your pain" Jay explained as he walked out of the bathroom.

Erin nodded as she started to undress and she looked in the mirror at the dark purple bruises that were surrounding the bandages over her stomach. She felt hot tears welling behind her eyes as she gently touched the bandages that were covering her sutured stab wounds.

Erin shook her head to clear the visions of Mike Lane above her with the knife and she felt the tears fall at the memory she felt of the large blade slicing through her body.

"Hey" Jay said as he walked into the bathroom just as Erin was wiping away her tears. "You ok?"

Erin nodded "Yeah...yeah...I'm just hurting tonight"

Jay handed Erin her medicine and opened her bottle of water and watched as she took it. "I'm sorry, Er"

Erin shook her head as Jay started to gently unbandage her wounds and her skin goosebumped in spite of the pain at the feeling of the man she was in love with's hands on her body.

Erin watched as Jay tossed the bandages into the small garbage can and her face searched his for the look of disgust.

"Baby, you're beautiful" Jay assured. "They're just a reminder of how strong you are. Don't forget that"

Erin reached a hand out and started to pull Jay's shirt off.

"Er..." Jay's voice triled off.

"I need you to help me" Erin said. "Don't you want to?"

Jay nodded and searched her eyes to make sure that this was what she really wanted.

"I'd do anything to help you, you know that, right?" Jay asked.

Erin nodded and gave Jay a sad smile "I know"

Jay helped Erin slowly undress and he helped her step into the shower as he quickly stripped and followed her.

Jay felt his stomach turn as he looked at the bruises that were all over Erin's thin frame. He felt a flicker of rage but soon felt it disappear as Erin turned and looked at him.

"I can remember you talking to me when I was in the hospital" Erin said.

"What?" Jay asked.

"When you were talking to me, I can remember some of the things you said. I heard it, but I couldn't open my eyes. It was like your voice was the one thing that I heard and I knew that I was still alive. I just remember being around all of this light and it was so peaceful and unlike anything I'd ever felt in my life and the closer I got to it, the more beautiful it got, but when I was almost to it, I heard you. And I knew that I had to go towards your voice. Because it was like...home" Erin explained as she looked at him.

Jay raised his hand and ran it across Erin's cheek "Home, huh?"

Erin nodded "You saved me, and I want to spend the rest of my life trying to save you right back"

Jay smiled as he looked at Erin and somehow he knew, all of those promises he made her in the hospital that night about marrying her and having a family with her and growing old with her were not too far from being a dream come true.

 **000000000000000000**

 **You guys know that you're welcome to request one shots, right? If there's something you'd like to see, just let me know.**

 **Thanks.**

 **Please Review.**


	5. I Vow To Love You In All Your Forms

**This chapter takes place around Chapter 32. After Jay and Erin are married and are still on their honeymoon.**

 **It was the first request that I got and I hope that you like it.**

 **It's a strong T at the end.**

 **000000000000000**

"Smile," the stranger said as he took a picture of the honeymooning pair in front of the pier at the beach

"Could you take one more, please?" Jay asked as he drew his wife in closer. "I love you, Erin," he said.

"I love y—" Erin responded before finding herself in a romantic embrace, captured by one very thorough and passionate kiss. She began to sway as Jay kissed her gently one more time.

"Are you alright?" he whispered.

"Maybe we should go back to our time share," she nearly purred.

"If that's what you want." Jay said with the raise of a brow.

Erin sighed and looked at her watch. They'd only been at the beach for a little over an hour. "I guess we should probably stick it out, I mean we did pay to park. It would be a shame to let that money go to waste"

"If you say so" Jay said looking down at his wife before pulling her back in to a long slow kiss.

The stranger who had taken their picture cleared their throat awkwardly breaking Erin and Jay from their embrace and Erin blushed as she reached for the camera.

"How about we go eat?' Jay suggested as he took Erin by the hand and started walking down the pier and across the beach.

The Halstead's walked around until they found a nice clearing in the for an impromptu picnic.

"Where are the sandwiches?" Jay asked as he rummaged through the tote bag after Erin had spread the blanket out on the sand.

"What sandwiches?" Erin asked as she took a seat next to him on the blanket.

"The ones you were going to have delivered to our time share from the deli down the street.."

Erin raised a brow and looked at her husband "You mean the ones YOU were going to order while I took a shower?"

"No, the ones…" Jay retraced his steps. "I fell back asleep."

"Duh."

"So…we have a box of wheat crackers, this little cheesy thing," Jay said, holding the package up for Erin to see, "An apple, two pears and two bottles of very expensive spring water"

Erin opened up her purse. "Two Hershey's bars," she proclaimed, "and of course some gum"

"Heaven," he said. "Here. Come closer. Are you hungry?"

"A little," Erin admitted.

Jay reached into the tote bag and his fingers skimmed across a book love letters and poems from history. A wedding gift from Burgess

"What's this?" Jay asked.

"Just a gift from Burgess. Thought that maybe if I left it for you to find, you'd learn a little something about romance" Erin teased

"How do I love thee," he recited, placing his hand on his heart, "let me count the ways."

"You're such an idiot!" she giggled.

"I love thee to the level of everyday's most quiet need, by sun and candle-light," he continued.

"I'm impressed, Jay, you've really got this down!"

Jay reached across for her purse, brushing her lap with his hand. "I love thee freely, as men strive for Hershey's; I love thee purely, as they turn from Keebler."

"Chocolate over crackers, I should've seen that one coming." Erin sighed as she laid back on the blanket.

Jay smiled and laid down next to Erin on the blanket

"I love thee with a love I had thought I'd lost," he nuzzled her neck "I love thee with a love that came back to me"

Jay took a long, seductive look at the way Erin was laying on the blanket, inspired by the curve of her hip that disappeared into endless, jean-clad legs. "I love thy body," he whispered against her skin as he began to unbutton her blouse.

"What are you doing?" Erin reached up and grabbed her shirt "There are people on this beach"

"Worshipping at the altar of Erin Halstead," he said, simply.

"Jay…" she protested, mild and unsure, aroused.

"I love thee to the length to Heaven and back," he said, kissing between her breasts, "Even in spite of the dirty words that leave your mouth."

"Fuck you, Jay," she laughed as he teased her belly button.

"Exactly," he said, unbuttoning her jeans, kissing her there before he undressed her further. "What do you say?"

"Say what?" she said softly, betrayed by shallow breath. Her voice trailed off as her mind focused on intimacy, their intimacy—warm and desired, fulfilling and yet never quite enough, the special carnal blend that was Erin and Jay.

"Should we give the baby a break from the honeymoon fun?" he asked, with thrilling results, against her undraped skin.

Erin moaned and pulled him back up toward her. Back to her lips, literally sucking him in as she massaged his tongue with deft intensity. Jay groaned, the sensation riveting every nerve in his body. A kiss, a touch, a mutual surrender.

He rolled to one side, bringing Erin with him. When she released him, breathless, he took a quick look around to make sure that anyone that could see them was further down the beach. Jay returned his gaze to to her breasts, admiring the affect pregnancy had, had on his beautiful wife..

He stopped suddenly. "Erin, what's this?" he asked.

Illuminated by setting sunlight pouring through the trees, Jay detected the very slight glimmer of an old scar on Erin's left breast. When she realized what he was staring at, Erin quickly covered up.

"Nothing," she said, solemn, turning her eyes away.

"Erin, it's not nothing. I don't know why I never noticed it before."

"Jay, really. It's nothing…"

In the trees beyond the beach they could hear scattered laughter, followed by the sound of an engine revving and the blare of a car horn of someone driving down onto the beach.

"Erin?"

"We should go," she said, equally abrupt. She got up and quickly gathered her things, gathering her wits as well, and heading towards the car with quiet determination. Jay stayed seated on the blanket, confused, scared, wondering what had just happened.

 **000000000000000**

It was unearthly quiet in car. Erin refused to talk about what was bothering her, and that simple refusal weighed heavily on her husband. Silence fueled his darkest fears. Was there a health crisis he hadn't been aware of? Something he needed to know? Jay's confusion spawned frustration, then irritation—though, cognizant of the descending mood, he struggled valiantly to avoid the inevitable anger.

He tried turning on the car radio, but found no comfort in the alternative music.

Somewhere along the line, Jay made a wrong turn, or a series of them for all they knew, yet he stubbornly refused to look at the map Erin held out to him. After the car departed down another city street, Jay swerved the car onto the shoulder and skidded to a stop. Erin wrinkled her brow as she watched her husband pacing back and forth outside the car. A glimpse of a road sign on the opposite side of the road sent him running back to the car and they turned around.

His happiness was short-lived. When Jay finally found his way to the highway they were supposed to be on, he indulged his temper and stepped on the gas. The angrier he got, the gloomier Erin became in response, a memory from the past having become more present, and a dark cloud settling on them both.

"Jay, slow down," Erin said through gritted teeth fifteen minutes down the road.

"I'm only going 10 miles over the limit—if there is one here. Do you see it posted? Because I don't."

"Whatever it is, you're going too fast slow down"

"Fine," he said. "At least you're talking to me again."

Erin said nothing, and they both stewed for a few more agonizing minutes. Jay conceded first. "Are you going to enlighten me about what happened back there or are we…"

"Jay!"

"What?" he shouted back.

"You just missed the exit."

The Halstead's hour"easy drive" took nearly two. By the time they pulled into the time share, both Jay and Erin were thoroughly pissed.

"Let's take five," Jay suggested, hoping to get back on track once they were comfortably settled in for awhile.

"You know what? Take ten," Erin tossed back.

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine!"

Erin went to the bedroom and closed the door behind her while Jay headed to the bar for a beer…or three. The company was jovial and easily took Jay's mind off his troubles.

Two hours later, he stumbled back to their room only to find that he'd been locked out. There was no response when he knocked on the door.

He tried pounding. "Come on, Erin. It's raining outside," he pleaded. "Erin? Are you asleep?"

Jay went out the door at the end of the hall and trampled through some rose bushes to get to the window. He tried pulling himself up, but the liquor got the best of him and he slipped, smashing his hand against the ledge. He could see through the window that Erin was lying in bed with her back to him. Suddenly, she moved, turning around to see her well-drenched husband outside the window. She got up immediately and trudged to the window.

"Oh my God, Jay. What are you doing?" she said in concern as she opened the window out; he had been trying to lift it up.

"I wanted to bring you a rose," he said, joking, but clearly drunk.

He stopped talking as he teetered to stand up, looking longingly at her. Without warning, Jay's head jerked involuntarily and his eyes filled with shame and guilt.

"I hurt you, didn't I? I hurt you."

"Jay…" she tried to comfort him.

"I did, didn't I? I hurt you! Why wouldn't you tell me? Erin…I didn't mean to, Erin. That wasn't me." He sunk unsteadily to his knees, taking Erin down with him.

"Bastard! Stupid Jay left an ugly bite mark to prove…"

"I know it wasn't you, Jay. You would never hurt me," she said, soothingly. "It's just a mark, it'll fade"

"I shouldn't have done that, I got too caught up in the moment, you should have stopped me" Jay explained.

"Jay?" she continued, brushing her cheek affectionately against his.

"Yeah?"

"I'm fine. Honestly. I told you in my vows: If I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't change a thing," she said with renewed fervor. "I'd make all the same mistakes that would lead us here." She kissed his other cheek. "I'd marry you in a heartbeat, Jay. I love you."

"I love—"

"I love you and I need you, Jay."

Their lips met tenderly, reassuring and forgiving one another with each kiss. Jay laid back on the rug with Erin following, kissing and hugging until they could no longer fight off their exhaustion.

 **000000000000000**

Jay woke up first. At least, he thought he woke up first, but when he turned over, he discovered a pillow where his partner had been. His partner—his wife—had disappeared. Jumping out of bed, he walked to the bathroom and found the door locked.

"Erin? Why did you lock the door?"

"Because I like to think that my brain is operational at least some part of the day, and I know we'll never make it to dinner or the theater if we're not dressed and ready to go." She opened the door and poked her head out briefly.

"Soon!" she said, closing and locking the door just as quickly.

"I may have to organize a protest," Jay declared as he pulled a new pair of boxer shorts out of the drawer. He returned to the bed, reclining against the headboard and throwing his right foot over his left.

"Erin…" he moaned ten minutes later, still not willing to budge.

"Almost ready."

"Erin…Baby come on" he cried out after another five.

Erin opened the door and walked out. Jay was sure his heart had skipped a beat. He couldn't believe that the stunning woman now standing before him, dressed only in a petite silk slip, with her hair dried and styled and the barest amount of makeup—that woman was his wife.

"How did you get here, Grace Kelly, and what did you do with my wife?" he exclaimed. His eyes poignantly conveyed his wonder and adoration. "C'mere," he said in a sweet, hushed tone.

Erin stepped toward him but, noticing the look on his eyes, stopped abruptly. "Um, no," she insisted.

"Erin, C'mere."

"No," she reiterated, more resolved than ever to have their theater night.

Undeterred by her reticence, Jay moved toward her instead. "No, Jay," Erin pleaded, nearly melting when he touched her tummy gently.

"Just wanted to say hi to the baby," he assured her. Erin was unconvinced.

"Your turn to hit the showers," she motioned, pointing the way.

His heart danced again a few minutes later when he exited the bathroom. Erin was wearing a dark blue summer dress with spaghetti straps and a plunging neckline that emphasized her breasts. Jay smiled and received a smile in return as Erin studiously put the finishing touches on her makeup.

"You look…amazing," he said, bending down to decorate her cheek with a kiss.

"Jay, you haven't even shaved yet," she said, trying to be stern. She rose from the chair and Jay immediately pulled her into a hug.

"Jay…"

"Alright, alright. I was hoping that you might do the honors tonight." She looked at him suspiciously. "I promise I will restrain my nefarious hands if you help me rid myself of the offending stubble."

"Promise?"

"Scout's honor."

"I don't remember you ever telling me you were a boy scout."

"But the pledge still holds."

"It better."

He grabbed his shaving kit and started laying everything out on the vanity table while Erin got a bowl of warm water. He scooted his chair over to allow room for a second chair, but Erin surprised him by hiking up the skirt of her dress and straddling his lap instead.

"Hold still," she said. "You know the drill."

She saved the chin for last, knowing that was always the hardest part. But her concern for not wounding the man she hoped to parade in downtown Orlando caused her to fidget in his lap, re-positioning herself several times before Jay made a plea of his own.

"Erin, you're gonna have to stop that or we're going to have a problem. Real soon."

"Sorry," she said proudly, wiping his face with a warm towel. "I'm all done"

Jay turned to look in the mirror. "Very good, Mrs. Halstead. Very professional. Well, except for the impromptu lap dance."

"Consider that my extra service," she winked, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss before he had time to say anything else.

"What was that for?" he asked when they both emerged for air.

"It's because I wanted to kiss you."

 **000000000000000**

"Honey," Jay said as he laid his napkin down on the dinner table of the restaurant he and Erin had found after their trip to the movies

"Huh?"

"No, honey," he whispered in her ear. "I think it lost its way en route to that gorgeous mouth of yours."

"What makes you think it was an accident?" she whispered back, moving her hand under the tablecloth and across his groin.

"Dessert?" Jay coughed.

"Sure," she replied, overpowering him with a kiss that would've made bystanders blush.

Jay motioned for the waiter. "Could we have the check, please?" he said in a restricted voice.

Erin looked at her husband and frowned "Jay? Is something wrong? I thought we were going to have dessert."

"We are," he said, placing a generous tip on the tray and leading her out the back door. "If we don't get back to our time share, I'm going to explode," he explained as soon as they got outside the door.

"I'm sorry I ruined dinner for you."

"Are you kidding?" he responded in surprise. He placed both hands on her face. "That's simply not possible."

His mouth overwhelmed hers, his tongue gliding against her tongue in a deeply sensual kiss as both sought nourishment. He kissed down her neck to that honey that had distracted him so intensely, delighting in her moan as he cleaned it off.

"Jay," she sighed. "Do you need me to…uh…help you?"

"All under control," he said, pressing up against her for a few thrilling moments. "Stay still," he requested, holding her tightly to him. It wasn't long before she could actually feel him relaxing, rebalancing. "Let's…walk some more," he suggested after a lovingly rendered, but decidedly less forceful liplock.

"Sure?"

"Yes."

Erin entwined her arm with Jay's, leaning her head slightly on his shoulder as they walked down the street the sound of the ocean waves hitting the beach filled the late summer air.

The heels were no help. The street that would lead them home was so close, but Erin's feet were giving out quickly. Jay saw what looked like an adult bookstore and with a widening smile Jay escorted her inside, hoping to find a comfortable chair somewhere.

"The Love Botique? What exactly did you think you'd find here?" Erin ribbed Jay as they surveyed the assortment of adult books and toys that now surrounded them.

"You can never have too many…books," he retorted, as he eyed some very unconventional items and he shook his head at the thought of how some of them were used.

"I never had to buy them."

"Give me a break, Lindsey…I mean, Mrs. Halstead."

"You seem to be forgetting, I do have a past. Sure, it's one that I'm not proud of, but a past indeed." Erin said in a low voice as she followed her husband through the store.

"IF you're trying to make me jealous by imagining you with other men...it's working." Jay said as he pulled Erin closer to him.

The married couple perused the store for an hour, carefully guarding their baskets, determined to make selections that would please, surprise and amuse. She caught up with her husband paging through The New Joy of Sex: A Gourmet Guide to Lovemaking. Erin looked at it and then handed it back. "Been there. Done that," she winked at him.

Jay rolled his eyes as he put the book back. "Not funny"

Erin laughed as she stepped into Jay's chest and he wrapped his arm around her. "I'm sorry, babe"

 **000000000000000**

"Are you ready?" he hissed, his heated body pressed fervently against hers as they made out in a sidestreet alley. They had walked exactly two blocks before Jay motioned toward an adjacent stairway, far enough back in the shadows to be removed from view—but not far enough to get too risqué.

"Jay, no," Erin said, trying to control her shallow breathing. "We're not having sex in front of a group of tourists."

Seemingly unfazed by her protest, he continued to kiss her neck.

"Are you sure?" he asked, pleased with his efforts.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Erin groaned as she felt a strong wave of nausea hit her.

Jay ran out and hailed a taxi for their short half mile journey back to their time share. Back home, however, it appeared that it had been a false alarm, the queasiness was gone. "Maybe it was a touch of morning sickness," Erin offered in apology.

00000000000000

As Erin set about finishing the last things for dinner, she took a minute and walked into her room to the full-length mirror. It was now 6:55, and Jay would be there any minute from getting their dessert at The Cheesecake Factory. She pressed down her dress one more time making sure it wasn't bunched anywhere. Walking down the hall, and back into the kitchen she lifted the lid on the pot, to make sure the food was done. Everything else was already on the table. She was just waiting for the chicken. As she placed the food onto a serving dish, she heard a soft knock on her door. She took the dish to the dining room table before walking to the door. When she opened it and locked eyes with Jay she heard is quick intake of breath. She smiled, pleased with the reaction she got from him.

"Are you going to stand there, or are you gonna come in?" Erin asked

Jay's eyes roamed over her body. He shook his head once before replying, but all she got was, "huh?"

"I said are you coming in or not?"

"Oh, yeah sorry." Jay said. "Coming" would be the operative word, because he thought he would in his pants just looking at his new wife.

"You look breathtaking by the way." Jay said as he took in what his wife had put on in the time he'd left to get dessert.

She was wearing a black spaghetti strap dress that came mid thigh. He could see more cleavage then before and all he wanted to do was lick the valley between her breasts.

"You don't look bad yourself." Erin said to him and smile. He looked really damned good wearing a navy blue dress shirt with black dress pants. The shirt only made his gorgeous eyes stand out even more.

"Since this is our last night here, I brought these." He said as he held up a bouquet of flowers. "I thought we should celebrate our last night here"

Erin smiled at him as she took the flowers from him. "Thank you." She closed the door behind them, and moved to the kitchen. "I'm just going to get us a drink.".

Erin came back from the kitchen with two glasses of water in her hands. "So you ready to eat?" Erin asked

"Yeah. Whatever you made smells really good." Jay said trying to take his mind off of the affect his gorgeous wife was having on him by just looking at her.

"It's called Lemon Chicken. Camille taught me how to make it. I hope you like it." Erin walked the short distance to the table and put both glasses down. She gestured with her hand for Jay to sit down with her.

"It sure looks delicious, I'm sure it's great." Jay said "I'm proud of you being so domestic"

"Don't get used to it." Erin teased

Throughout dinner they talked about work and their pasts. It was safer territory for both of them. But in the back of each of their minds, they knew what they really wanted. She wanted him and he wanted her. If she had to she would make the first move. But the more she thought about it, she would do it anyways. By the way Jay kept looking at her, she knew what he wanted after dinner. Their looks of desire passing through them, was only growing stronger every time their eyes locked.

When they were both finished with their meal Erin gathered their plates and brought them to the kitchen. Jay had offered his help, but she refused him and told him she was fine. When Erin entered the dining room again she placed two small plates, the cheesecake and a small bowl of fresh cut strawberries on the table.

"Would you like some dessert? Something more to drink?" Erin asked as she stood beside him, she was getting ready to reach for his empty glass when his answer stopped her in her tracks.

"You read my mind" Jay said his gaze raising to lock on Erin's

Erin looked at Jay with lust in her eyes. This was her chance to give them both what they wanted. What she needed.

While Erin had been cleaning off the table from dinner, Jay had pushed his chair back some, and it gave her the perfect amount of space to straddle his legs, so that's what she did.

When she lowered herself onto his thighs, she locked eyes with his. They were getting dark with desire for her as she sat on his lap. Her breath caught in her throat at what she saw.

Jay's breathing was starting to quicken a bit, and so was Erin's. Erin had just straddled herself across his thighs. If she moved in the slightest way, he knew she'd be able to feel his now raging hard on. Neither one of them spoke. They were both afraid to.

Jay looked from Erin's smoldering eyes, to her luscious lips. He rested his hands on her hips and hers came up around his neck. The small movement made her core move against his hard member. Jay moaned from the small contact. 'God how he loved this woman'

Erin smiled at him, loving the affect she was having on him. She was turned on beyond belief right now. Her pregnancy hormones were off the charts .

She shifted her position on him and he moaned again. She felt a warm rush of liquid between her thighs as she looked into his heavy-laden eyes. Finally Erin broke the silence between them.

"If you want me Jay." She said as she lowered one of the straps on her dress. She leaned a little closer to him. "You can have me." And then she lowered the second strap. Her ample breasts were now bare before his eyes. He licked his lips with anticipation.

He looked up into her desire filled eyes again, and she moved against his aching groin. His control snapped, and he pulled her to his well-toned body roughly. He captured her lips with his. He ran his tongue along her lower lip before pushing his way into her mouth. She moaned at the feeling. He dueled with her tongue as they both explored the crevices of each other's mouths.

Jay sucked on her tongue and bit it gently. Erin moaned from the pleasure she was getting from just his kiss. He moved his hands up her sides lightly until he reached her soft mounds. He cupped the flesh in his hands, as he swept his thumbs over her breasts. Her hands moved from his shoulders to his hair.

She groaned in frustration as his lips left hers, but soon gasped when his tongue came in contact with her jaw as he started to kiss down to her neck. Erin threw her head back as he began suckling on her neck, as he other hand pulling the bottom of her dress up over her thighs

She moaned again, louder this time when he bit down on her neck. It was just the right amount of pleasure and pain for her to feel more liquid between her thighs.

The increasing ache between her legs was becoming too much. She started rocking her hips more. She could feel his hard on even more against her core, and all she wanted was release. Her movements were becoming faster and Jay groaned. It sounded somewhere between complete pleasure and tortuous pain. He could feel her heat and wetness through his pants, and all he wanted was to be inside of her.

As she continued to grind against him him, he let got of her skin and captured her mouth again.

Erin broke from the kiss and moved her lips across his jawbone and down his neck. Jay moved the hair behind her shoulder and licked the sweat droplets on her neck. He sucked on her neck, before letting it go, and blowing cool air on it.

She shivered as she began unbuttoning his shirt, every new area of skin she exposed she placed an open mouthed kiss on it. She stopped rocking her hips, and Jay groaned in protest. She looked at him and smiled as she got off his lap and kneeled on the floor between his legs. Erin tugged his shirt from his pants, and undid the remaining buttons. Jay watched her every move. She pushed his shirt to his sides, and looked up at him again, as she began to place open-mouthed kisses from his abdomen to his nipple. She could feel his muscles tenses every time her lips came in contact with his burning skin.

Jay moved his hands from her bare shoulders to her hair as her tongue snaked out and pressed against his nipple before biting down on it. He moaned from the pleasure going through his body as Erin moved her hands from his thighs to his belt buckle. She unfastened it and then his pants button.

She let go of his nipple as she placed more open mouthed kisses down his body.

"Baby, don't" Jay said as he reached for Erin's hand. "It'll be over way before it starts"

Jay pulled Erin into his lap and kissed her.

He lifted her from her knees to stand up with him. Jay found the zipper on the back of her dress and let it pool at her feet . She kicked the garment to the side. As he did that, she pushed his shirt from his shoulders, and their bare skin came in contact with each others they moaned in unison. Jay left her mouth, and began sucking on her neck again, as Erin pushed his boxers and pants down. He kicked his shoes off, and then his clothes, and he placed another searing kiss on her mouth.

As he kissed her, he leaned them back some, and pushed the dessert out of the way. When he lowered Erin to the table, he began moving his heated kisses down her body.

As his mouth moved down her body he came to the soft swell of her stomach with opened mouthed kisses. He smiled against her skin at the thought of his child growing safely inside of the woman he loved more than life and the idea of impending fatherhood filled him with pride.

Jay stood up and and gently moved between Erin's spread thighs. Jay looked down at her and she opened her eyes with a smile on her face. She lifted her hand to him, and beckoned him to her. As he moved over her, his hard member slid into her moist warmth. He captured her gasp and his moan in his mouth, as he filled her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, as he began to slowly move into her. The ripples of pleasure shooting through her body almost sent her over the edge again.

The feel of her around him was the most pleasurable thing he had ever felt. No woman had ever made him feel this way. Sex was good before but it was never this amazing. Her tongue dueled with his for dominance.

The feel of her approaching climax caused her to claw at his back and moan louder then she had before Jay knew she was close and he sped up his movements to catch up with her. Erin's release hit her and Jay quickly followed after.

Both of their breathing was ragged as they lay there. Erin slid her hands up and down his back as she placed a kiss on his temple. "Oh My God. That was amazing" She said breathlessly.

Jay chuckled and looked up at her. "I was going to say that." He smiled down at her sated look and lowered his lips to her for a gentle but passionate kiss.

He slid from her body and stood. He extended his hand to Erin and helped her sit upright, before she hopped off the table on unsteady legs. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the bedroom. She pulled back the covers of the bed and they both climbed in.

Erin curled into Jay's embrace as he started to slowly trace his hand up and down her shoulder.

"I don't want to go home tomorrow" Erin sighed and closed her eyes "I want to stay here with you forever"

Jay smiled and placed a kiss on top of Erin's head. "That does sound pretty amazing..."

Jay's free hand slid down Erin's body and gently came to rest on top of her stomach "But there are so many good things that are going to happen when we get back to Chicago"

Erin's eyes opened and she laid her hand on top of Jay's on her stomach. "No matter what happens, we're going to be OK, right? The three of us?"

Jay furrowed his brow for a moment before he leaned up and gave Erin a long slow kiss on the lips.

"The three of us are going to be so happy" Jay assured.

"And this baby is going to know how much we love him or her?" Erin asked.

"Every single day" Jay promised.

"I love you" Erin confessed "So very much"

Jay smiled as he nuzzled Erin's nose with his "I love you Er, forever"

 **000000000000000**


	6. Home: Where I Belong

**This was a requested One Shot from a guest reviewer about Erin and Jay visiting Chicago after their move. So it takes place a few years after chapter 94 of Undercover Honeymoon. I hope that you like it.**

 **00000000000000**

"It seems to me like you're getting the easier end of this deal" Erin teased as she strapped Nora into her carseat and covered her up.

Erin and Jay had come in to visit for the holiday and to show off the newest addition to their family, Nora Grace.

"Babe, It was your idea to have a day with just you and "the girls" Jay remarked as he packed Caleb's diaper bag for the "Guy's Day" they were going to have with Adam and Jackson.

"Yeah, but see...you only have to keep your eyes on one person, I have to keep my eyes on three. Doesn't seem very fair..." Erin gently sat Nora's carseat down on the ground and turned to her husband who had walked up behind her.

"I can always lay you down on the bed and we can make an effort to even things out" Jay teased gesturing to the bed in Hank and Olivia's guest room as he raised his brow.

"No" Erin said holding a hand up and placing it against Jay's chest as he stepped towards her.

"That's what I thought" Jay teased and he laughed as he felt Erin smack his arm as he walked past her to the dresser.

"I think Hank misses us" Erin sighed as she took a seat on the bed.

"Correction, he misses the kids. You were replaced the day you had Everly and you've slid down the list with every birth" Jay reached for his wallet on the dresser when he felt Erin's arms wrap around him from behind.

He groaned and leaned back against her as he felt her spread her fingers out across the broad plane of his chest and down his stomach. He closed his eyes as he felt Erin place a kiss on his shoulder and gently tug on his shirt to pull it up just enough to slide her hands across his abs.

"Am I really that replacable?" Erin asked as she slid her hands down Jay's abs and down to his belt as she started to loosen it.

"No" Jay said and he sucked in his breath as Erin's fingers unbuttoned the button on his jeans and slowly started to slip just beneath them.

"Are you sure?" Erin asked. Her breath hot against Jay's neck.

"Ye...Yes" Jay stumbled through his words as Erin's hand slid further down the front of his jeans.

"MOMMY!" a voice called as the sound of Everly running down the hall filled the air.

Erin's hand quickly slid out of Jay's jeans and he turned away and walked to the closet just as the four year old came running into the room and lept onto the bed.

"What is it, Ev?" Erin asked.

Everly looked between her mother and father. Her small brow furrowing as she looked between them. "Daddy, what are you doing in the closet?"

"Just looking for your brother" Jay lied.

"He's wif Papaw Hank. You're silly, daddy" Everly laughed as she looked at her father.

Erin looked over at Jay and raised an eyebrow at him as he turned around to face his wife and oldest daughter.

"What are we supposed to be guessing, Ev?" Jay asked.

Everly was quiet for a moment as she thought about what it was she was supposed to come upstairs and say. "OhI I member' Aunt Kimmy and Uncle Adam are here. Papaw said to come tell you"

Erin stood from the bed and picked Nora's carseat up off of the floor and she held her hand out to Everly. "Are you ready to go to the mall with Aunt Kim and Abby?"

Everly quickly nodded. "I am. I gotsa get my shoes on"

"Have Grandpa Hank help you" Erin said as she helped Everly off of the bed.

"Ok mommy...Papaw!" Everly's voice called through the house.

Jay walked over to Erin as she sat Nora's carseat on the bed and did a double check to make sure that she had everything she'd need in the diaper bag.

Erin felt Jay wrap his arms around Erin's middle and he gently pulled her back into him as he leaned down and nuzzled her neck. "You're dead"

Erin turned her head and she placed a kiss on Jay's cheek as she looked at him. "You know you love me"

"That's what I keep telling myself" Jay teased as he held Erin's gaze.

"Babe, if you want to go, you know where the door is" Erin teased back.

"And have Hank take me out to the silos and kill me? I'll pass. You're stuck with me until the sweet release of death" Jay said as he gave Erin a quick kiss on the lips before moving away from her.

"Keep talking and your death will come a lot sooner than you think" Erin said as she watched Jay walk around her and over to her side where Nora's carseat was.

"Do you hear how your mommy is talking to me?" Jay asked as he looked into the carseat at the infant who stared back at her father intently.

"Try not to spend an obsene amount of money when you and Adam are at Cabela's" Erin said as she pulled Nora's diaper bag over her shoulder.

"Yeah yeah" Jay said as he picked up Nora's carseat up off the bed and followed his wife out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

"And there's a bunny in my class and his name is Charlie" Everly said as she sat next to Burgess on Hank's couch.

"Oh wow!" Burgess said with excitement in her voice "What color is he?"

Everly brought her fingers up to her chin as she tried to recall what color the rabbit in her classroom was. "Purple"

"Purple?" Adam asked from where he was sitting on the couch watching Jackson and Caleb play toy cars. "What the hell kind of rabbit is purple?"

"The one at my school" Everly explained.

"Well excuse me" Adam said as he pulled Jack up onto his lap.

"No, I playin'" Jack said as he moved away from Adam and back over to the pile of toy cars that were on the floor.

"I'm so glad you missed me while I worked all night, Jack" Adam sighed as Abby walked over to him holding her plastic My Little Pony in her hands as she moved to her father's lap.

"I'm glad to see someone missed me" Adam said holding his arms out to Abby.

"No no" Abby said as she stepped past Adam and walked past him to where Arden was waiting with her own My Little Pony toys.

"Way to kick a man while he's down" Adam said as he stood up and moved to the couch next to Kim as Erin and Jay came down the stairs.

"Hey buddy!" Adam said as Jay came down the stairs.

"What's up, man?" Jay asked as he sat Nora's carseat down on the table as Adam stood and the two men embraced.

"It's good to see ya, you'te looking good man" Adam said. "Virginia is treating you well"

Jay nodded and smiled as he watched Erin and Kim embrace in a long hug before walking over to where Nora was in her carseat. "It's treating me great man"

"I can't believe the last time we saw you Erin was still pregnant and now you have four kids. What's that like?" Adam asked.

Jay lauged and shook his head, "It's a circus most days, but I wouldn't have it any other way"

"I hear ya" Adam said as he looked over in the corner to where Jack and Caleb were playing.

"They're picking up right where they left off" Kim said as she and Erin walked up to where Jay and Adam stood.

"They're blood brothers...literally" Adam said as he wrapped an arm around his wife.

"I never thought of it like that" Kim said as a smile formed on her lips. "I sometimes forget that the twins are one of the main reasons why we still have our Jack"

Jay smiled and wrapped his arm around Erin as he pulled her to him and kissed her head.

"You know it's basically a given that Jack and Arden are going to grow up to get married" Adam joked.

"Nope, Arden isn't getting married are you?" Jay asked as the two year old walked past him and he picked her up as he tickled her tummy.

Arden's giggles filled the living room and she belly laughed as Jay leaned forward and started blowing raspberries all over her neck. "Say I'm not going to like boys until I'm in my fifties"

"No no" Arden said "No boy"

Jay laughed and gave Arden a kiss on the cheek as he sat her back down on the ground.

Adam and Kim both laughed as they looked at Jay.

"You guys ready to go?" Adam asked as he looked down at his watch and hoisted Jack up off the ground and over his head to sit on his shoulders.

"Don't get him hyped up, Adam" Kim warned as she picked Abby up off the ground.

"I'm going to go and tell Hank and Olivia that we're leaving and we'll be back" Erin said as she walked out of the living room.

"Me too" Everly said as she quickly ran after Erin.

 **00000000000000**

Erin yawned as she came down the hall in her pajamas. She'd just put the twins to bed and stopped to look in on Everly who insisted that she just HAD to sleep in Hank and Olivia's room in the middle.

"Is she ok?" Erin said in a low voice as she looked in at her daughter who was sound asleep in bed next to Olivia who was reading a book.

"She's fine" Olivia answered as she reached a hand down and brushed a dark lock of Everly's hair out of her face.

"I can take her to my and Jay's room if you want" Erin said.

"No...no...she's fine where she is" Olivia insisted. "We don't get to see her that often, it's nice to have you guys here visiting"

"We really need to try to do it more often. Not just on holidays. As much as I love being in Virginia, I miss it here. I miss our friends and I miss you and Hank. I miss my house here. Adam and Kim told us tonight that they were going to build a house just outside of the city and told us they were going to sell the house. And...I know that I shouldn't be upset about it, it's their house now, but something inside of me just felt angry" Erin sighed as she walked over to Hank and Olivia's bed and took a seat.

"Why do you think it upset you so much?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know" Erin sighed as she looked at Everly. "I guess I just kind of hoped that we'd move back here sooner or later and we'd have our house back. It was where all of Everly and the twins firsts happened and I guess the thought of Adam and Kim selling it made it hard to know that I had to let go of that dream"

"Why don't you talk to Adam and Kim about it? Maybe you guys could work something out. I mean, your military housing is contracted. Couldn't you guys buy the house back from Adam and Kim?" Olivia asked.

"I don't think Jay would ever go for that" Erin said.

"Why don't you talk to him about it?" Olivia asked.

"I'll think about it" Erin said as she stood up and walked towards the door.

Olivia picked her book back up as Erin turned and looked at her "Olivia?"

"Yeah?" Olivia said as she put her book back down on her lap.

"I know I don't tell you a lot, but I'm glad that Hank married you. Talking to you reminds me of when Camille was alive and she used to give me advice. I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you for stepping in and being the person that I can go to for maternal advice. And thanks for making Hank happy" Erin said.

"Thank you, Erin. That means a lot to me, and I'm always here no matter what you'd need. You can always come to me" Olivia assured.

"Goodnight" Erin said with a smile.

"Goodnight" Olivia said as she watched Erin leave.

 **00000000000000**

Erin walked down the stairs and she smiled when she saw Hank and Jay sitting in the living room watching a college football game and her smile grew when she saw Nora asleep on Hank's chest and Noah laying on the couch next to Jay as the three watched the game.

Erin placed a hand on Hank's shoulder and he looked up at her before looking down at Nora.

"She's worn out" Hank said as he placed a kiss on Nora's hair.

"Want me to take her?" Erin asked.

"No, I've got her" Hank said as he continued to rock in his chair.

"Okay" Erin said with a smile as she moved to sit on the other side of Jay.

"I think he's out, too" Erin said with a laugh at Noah who'd fell asleep against Jay.

"He thought he could hang with the big guys since he's in Kindergarten now" Jay explained as he stood and gently lifted Noah up and into his arms.

"Thanks Jay" Hank said as Jay walked past him and up the steps to Noah's room.

"No problem, I'll be back" Jay said.

Hank continued to watch the game for a few moments before he looked over at Erin.

"It's nice having you here for the week, kid"

Erin smiled and nodded "It's nice to be back. I haven't seen you since you and Liv came down after Nora was born. I hate going that long without seeing you guys"

"Jay tells me that Adam and Kim are going to sell their house" Hank said.

"Yeah..." Erin's voice trailed off sadly.

"You know. Liv and I were talking about how this house has seen better days and Noah is getting older and he needs a house that has a yard. A place where he can be a kid and play outside without Liv and I having to check on him all the time" Hank explained.

"Yeah?" Erin said. Not sure where Hank was going with the conversation.

"I was thinking, it's a good house. Be a nice place to move to until I retire in 5 years. By then military contracts would be over and people would have options of moving back to where their family is" Hank looked over at Erin and gave her a small smile.

"Hank..." Erin said "I couldn't ask you and Olivia to do something like that"

"You're not asking" Hank said as he looked back at the TV "Jay did"

"What?" Erin asked.

Hank ran his hand over Nora's back as he kept his eyes on the TV.

"You know it's funny. I used to pride myself that I knew you better than anyone. But, I've realized that's not true anymore. I don't think you realize just how much Halstead knows about you. Every thought you have before you even have it. That's what back up is for" Hank said as he looked over at Erin.

"You don't have to buy the house Hank. It's just a house" Erin said.

"No, it's your home. We're just going to keep it warm for you until you're ready to come back to it" Hank said.

"Back home..." Erin said with a smile.


	7. Grandpa

**I got this idea for this one shot last night during the CPD premire and it goes along with a PM request about doing a one shot based on Hank and Everly's relationship.**

 **So this one shot takes place around Chapter 53 of Undercover Honeymoon.**

 **I hope that you like it**

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"Are you ready to go to Papaw Hank's?" Erin asked as she pulled Everly's black tights up over her diaper clad bottom.

"Papa?" Everly clapped excitedly as her mother pulled her up into a sitting position on her changing table.

"Yes, papa" Erin said with a laugh at her daughter's excitement.

"Go?' Everly asked as she pointed to her bedroom door.

"We will as soon as daddy gets home from the store" Erin assured as she picked Everly up off of the changing table and grabbed her comb and a headband.

Erin flipped the nursery light out and called for Kane who was laying beside Everly's crib. Kane quickly stood up and stretched before quickly following Erin out the door.

Erin walked downstairs with Everly on her hip and took a seat on the living room couch.

"Doc" Everly said pointing to the TV as Erin started to run a comb through her daughter's hair.

"I don't think Doc is on, bug" Erin said.

"Doc" Everly said again.

Erin sighed and flipped the TV on to Disney Junior and looked at the TV. "Doc isn't on, Ev. I'm sorry"

"Dat?" Everly asked pointing to the cartoon on TV.

"That's Pooh Bear" Erin said "You know Pooh Bear"

"Pooh?" Everly said as she leaned back against Erin as Erin combed through her hair and pulled the flower headband around Everly's head.

The front door opened and Kane raised his head off his paws as Jay walked in carrying a bag of groceries.

"Da-dee" Everly called happily as she slid off Erin's lap and onto the floor.

"Just a second, bug" Jay said as he carried the grocery bag to the kitchen and sat it down on the counter.

"Da-dee" Everly said again as she held onto the couch and steadied herself on her tiny feet before letting go of the couch and walking in the kitchen after her father.

Jay unloaded the groceries as he felt tiny hands wrap around his leg and he smiled and looked down at his daughter.

"Hi pumpkin" Jay said his lips turning into a wide smile.

"Up up" Everly said holding her arms up to Jay.

"Just a second. Let daddy put this stuff away" Jay said as he moved out of Everly's grasp and over to the fridge to put away the groceries he'd picked up on his way home.

Everly's face turned into a frown and she sat down on her bottom and let out a whine before crying.

"Oh goodness" Jay said as he closed the fridge door and walked over to Everly and picked her up off the floor. "So grumpy"

Everly's cries ceased as Jay bounced her in his arms just as Erin came around the corner.

"She been like this all day?" Jay asked.

"She's been a pill today. She was running a fever earlier before her nap. I think she's getting sick" Erin sighed as she walked over to Jay and leaned against the counter.

"Maybe we should call Hank and cancel. We don't need to go over there tonight" Jay rubbed Everly's back as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"No, we really should go. Justin and Olivie went back home today and you know how he gets in his moods when they go back down to base" Erin explained.

"Do I ever" Jay said "What about Olivia Benson? What's going on with that?"

Erin shrugged her shoulder as she grabbed a sippy cup out of the dish washer and walked over to the fridge to get Everly's juice.

"I don't know, Hank says that they're just trying the friends thing for now. But I know that he likes her and I'd like to think that she likes him" Erin poured Everly's juice in her cup.

"How do you feel about that?" Jay asked as he continued to rub Everly's back.

"I don't know. I want Hank to be happy, but I guess I just feel weird about him moving on from Camille. I think about all the things that she wasn't here to see. I guess get a little sad because I wonder if she'd be proud of how I turned out" Erin explained as she put the jug of juice away and leaned against the table.

Jay walked over to Erin and reached a hand out to her chin and tilted it up so that her eyes met his.

"I don't doubt for a second that she'd be so proud of you. I know that I didn't know her, but she had a hand in making you this woman that you are and I know for a fact that she's proud of you. And I think she'd want Hank to be happy"

Jay looked into Erin's eyes and saw the mix of emotions that were there and he bent down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Thank you" Erin said with a smile.

"Let's get going if we're going to go to Hank's. We don't want to miss dinner" Jay said reluctantly.

"I'll go grab my purse. Can you put Everly's shoes and coat on?" Erin asked as she walked out of the kitchen.

Everly sighed and raised her head off of Jay's shoulder and "Papaw?"

Jay sighed and laughed as he walked Everly into the living room and grabbed her shoes as he quickly started to put them on her.

"Yes, we're going to Papaw's house" Jay sighed.

"Papaw" Everly said again as she clapped her tiny hands.

"You're supposed to be my ally against your grandpa Hank" Jay said as he bounced Everly on his knees.

"Papaw Go" Everly said pointing to the door.

Jay rolled his eyes and stood up with Everly. "We're going to papapw's"

Erin came down the stairs and grabbed her keys off the table as she slipped her jacket on. "Let's get going"

"We move out of Hank's house and I swear it's like you two gang up on me about wanting to be there all the time. I'm starting to think that he's your favorite" Jay explained as he pulled Everly's sweater around her and followed Erin out the door.

"You're just starting to figure that out?" Erin teased as they walked to the car.

 **000000000000000000**

"They'll be back in a few months, Hank" Erin assured before taking a bite of her spaghetti.

"I didn't say they wouldn't" Hank said wiping his mouth with his napkin before looking over at Everly who was grabbing small handfulls of pasta noodles and pulling them into her mouth.

Everly looked over at Hank and picked up a handful of spaghetti before extending her hand out to Hank.

Hank shook his head and smiled "No, Ev. That's yours. Grandpa has his"

Everly studied Hank for a few moments and she smiled before putting the handful of spaghetti in her mouth.

"How's work?" Erin asked as she swallowed her bite of pasta and reached for her drink and took a long sip.

"It's work" Hank said "Being there and seeing the things that some of this city is dealing with..."

Hank's voice trailed off as he looked around the table and then at Everly who was covered in pasta sauce and he smiled.

"...It makes you appreciate what you have"

Erin nodded and looked over at Jay and gave him a small smile and Jay smiled back and reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"So, are you guys planning on spending the night here tonight?" Hank asked as he stood from the table and cleared his plate.

Jay looked at Erin and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think so, not tonight Hank. But thanks for the offer. Everly has been fighting off a bug and I don't want to risk you getting sick too. Or her keeping you up tonight"

"Ok" Hank sighed and put his dish in the dishwasher.

"You don't want us here all night Hank, I thought you and Al had plans tomorrow" Jay said as he stood from the table and took his own plate to the sink.

Hank then remembered that he'd made plans with Al to help him clean out his garage and move his things back into his house after yet another fight with his wife.

Erin brought her plate over to the sink and handed it to Jay before she walked over to Everly's high chair and looked at her. "Are you done?"

Everly looked down at her bowl and then up at her mother "No no"

Erin shook her head at Everly and knew her daughter was finished eating, as she was way more interested in playing with her food than eating it.

"I think you're done" Erin lauged as she pulled Everly's tray away from the chair and carried it over to the sink and started to clean it off.

Hank walked over to Everly and he unbuckled her and lifted her up from her seat.

"Hank, she's going to get you filthy" Erin said as she looked over at Hank as he carried Everly over to the sink.

"She's fine" Hank said placing a kiss on Everly's head.

"Papaw" Everly said as he sat her down on the counter and wet a paper towel and started to wipe Everly's face and bare body off.

After cleaning Everly off Hank lifted the now clean one year old up from the counter and carried her into the living room.

"You guys staying to watch a movie?" Hank asked as he took a seat in his chair and sat Everly down on his lap.

Everly sneezed and rubbed her eyes before laying against Hank's chest.

"Bless you" Hank said as he placed a kiss on Everly's head.

Erin and Jay walked into the living room and Erin looked at the clock. "I think we're just going to go"

Hank nodded again and he placed another kiss on Everly's head as he stood from his chair. "I'll dress Ev"

Jay took a step to Hank and held his arms out for Everly. "I can do it, Hank"

"I got it" Hank said tightening his grip around Everly and walking upstairs with Everly.

"What the hell was that about?" Jay asked as Hank went up the stairs.

"He's just in one of his moods" Erin said running a hand along the back of her neck.

"Tired?" Jay asked as he watched Erin rub her neck and he took the few steps over to her and gently massaged her shoulder.

"Very" Erin said leaning into Hank's chair as Jay started to press his fingers harder into Erin's back and she groaned as she felt her muscles responding to his touch.

"Feel that good?" Jay asked with a smile.

"Yes" Erin said closing her eyes.

"Well, maybe after Ev goes to bed I'll give you one of my famous massages" Jay said bending down to place a kiss on Erin's shoulder.

"I have a feeling one of your famous massages is going to get me pregnant one day" Erin sighed.

"What? No...Never" Jay said shaking his head as Hank came back downstairs with a dressed Everly and her diaper bag.

"Hey pumpkin" Erin smiled as Hank reached the bottom of the stairs. "Are you ready to go home?"

Everly held tight to Hank's plaid shirt and shook her head "No papaw"

"We have to go home. You have to get a bath and go to bed" Erin sighed and reached for Everly who turned away from her mother.

"Papaw" Everly said again as she clung to Hank.

"Evie, we'll see papaw tomorrow" Jay added as he reached for her and took her from Hank as she started to cry.

"Paaapaaawww" Everly cried as hot tears rolled down her cheeks as she reached for Hank.

"Papaw will see you tomorrow bug" Hank assured as the infant cried in Jay's arms.

"No bye bye" Everly said reaching out for Hank.

"Evie" Jay soothed as he tried to bounce with her.

"I can keep her tonight" Hank offered.

"Hank, I..." Erin started.

Everly continued to hold her hands out for Hank and let a shrill scream escape her lungs as she continued to sob.

Jay handed Everly back to Hank and watched as his daughter started to calm down.

"Papaw" Everly said as she struggled to catch her breath.

"Are you sure you don't care?"Jay said looking at Erin and then at Hank.

"No, there's a perfectly good crib upstairs and she has stuff here" Hank said as he rubbed Everly's back as she calmed down.

Erin and Jay looked at each other for a few seconds and Erin gave a soft nod as she looked at her husband. Neither one of them really wanting to leave their little under the weather baby girl behind. Regardless of it being Hank or not.

"We could just both stay" Erin said looking at Jay. "I mean we still have some clothes here"

Jay sighed and shook his head "Alright, hell, we'll stay"

"Don't sound so excited, Halstead" Hank said as he rubbed Everly's back.

"It's just Erin and I have our own house now..." Jay started.

"Well go to your own house" Hank challenged.

Jay sighed and took a seat on the couch. "We're staying"

 **000000000000000000**

Hank pushed the door to Jay and Erin's room and he sighed when he saw them both curled together asleep. Erin's arm resting on Jay's chest and he had his hand clasped with hers on his chest. The light from the TV filled the dark room as Hank heard a cough come from across the hall.

Hank walked in the nursery and saw Everly sitting in her crib awake. Her small features lit up in a smile when she saw her grandpa walk in the room.

"Papaw" Everly said pulling herself to stand.

Hank smiled and walked over to the crib and lifted her out. He frownd when he felt heat coming off of her body and he placed a kiss on her cheek as he grabbed her pink blanket out of the crib and and walked out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom.

"Papaw" Everly said laying her head on his shoulder as she coughed.

"I'm here pumpkin" Hank said placing a kiss on the top of Everly's head as he grabbed some Vicks Baby bath wash from under the sink and a towel before heading downstairs.

"Let's give you a bath and get your fever down. How's that sound?" Hank asked as he stripped Everly and filled the kitchen sink with water and the baby bath and gently sat Everly down in the water.

Hank reached for the diaper bag that was on the table behind him and grabbed Everly's baby Tylenol out of it and Everly shook her head as she looked at him.

"No no" Everly said as Hank filled the dropper and sat the bottle down on the sink.

"It's gonna be fast" Hank gently took ahold of Everly's mouth and made a face at her.

Everly smiled and Hank took the chance and squirted the medicine down Everly's throat.

"No no" Everly whined shaking her head.

"I know, you don't feel well. Colds are never fun" Hank said as he gently started to wash Everly's body.

After her bath Hank dressed Everly for bed and turned the lights off and carried her upstairs.

"Mama, Da-dee" Everly said pointing to the door to Erin and Jay's room.

"Shhhh" Hank said as he peeked in the door. "They're sleeping see?"

Everly laid her head on Hank's shoulder as she looked in at her mother and father who were asleep.

"Let's go to bed" Hank said as he carried Everly into the nursery and turned her humidifier on.

He sat down in the rocking chair with her and covered her with her blanket as he started to rock with her.

"Papaw. Lub" Everly said as she laid against Hank's chest.

Hank smiled and placed a kiss on Everly's head.

"Papaw loves you, too. So much"


	8. I Loved Her First

**This is a requested one shot from Chapter 21 and Jay asking Hank's permission to marry Erin.**

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The bus pulled into the ferry docks just after noon and with a short ferry ride to the island the district had finally arrived at the Grand Hotel.

"Man, this is some classy shit" Ruzek said stepping off of the ferry and pulling his rolling suitcase behind him.

"You aren't kidding" Roman said walking up behind Ruzek. "Where are all the cars?"

"Oh, there are no cars on the island. All travel is either by foot, bike, or horse and buggy" Burgess explained as she walked up to her partner and her boyfriend.

"We've got to walk everywhere? That sucks" Ruzek sighed and wrapped an arm around Kim.

"Babe, you run after perps for a living. I think that you can manage a little walking" Burgess let go of her rolling suitcase long enough to wrap her arms around Adam.

"Doesn't mean I want to do it on vacation. A free vacation at that" Ruzek said as a smile spread across his face, as a representative for the hotel made her way up to the group.

The hotel rep took a look at the group before placing a smile on her face and speaking "Welcome to the historic Grand Hotel, we are so pleased to have you here with us this weekend for your work retreat. You'll find that we are unlike any other hotel you've stayed at. At Grand Hotel, no two of the 390 guest rooms are alike. More than three dozen themed rooms and suites from the Lincoln Suite to the Hollywood Suite it makes for interesting accommodations throughout. Each guest room has been tastefully decorated by a New York designer in its own special character and style, complete with numerous amenities including individually controlled AC, mini bar, in-room safe, cable TV, iron and coffee maker. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the hotel and resort grounds. Grand Hotel has always embraced its history, but kept up well with the times. Today, guests enjoy modern amenities while the hotel's original architecture and charm have been tastefully preserved. Contributing greatly to the hotel's ambiance is the relaxed atmosphere of Mackinac Island where cars are not allowed and the horse and carriage and bicycle are favored modes of transportation"

The hotel rep took a final glance at the group as hotel workers loaded up the teams luggage. "If you'll follow me, it's only a short walk up to the hotel. We will get everyone checked in and from there we will pass out your itinerary"

Erin started to walk up to paved road to the hotel and stopped when she felt Jay let go of her hand. She turned around to look at him "You coming?"

Jay looked at her and then at Voight who was standing on the dock talking to Olinsky. "Yeah, you go on and I'll catch up"

Erin nodded and turned around and started her way up to the road.

Jay watched her walk away and join Burgess and Ruzek before walking back down to the dock.

"...The first meeting for us is at 3 in the theater and then we will go from there" Voight told Olinsky as Jay walked up on their conversation.

"Halstead, something wrong?" Voight asked.

"You got a minute?" Jay asked looking at Voight.

"What's up?" Voight asked.

Alvin looked between Jay and Hank and then up to the hotel. "I'll meet you guys up there"

Olinsky walked past Jay and slapped his shoulder as a sign of support as he walked up the road to the hotel.

"You mind if we talk and walk? I'd like to get to my room before we have to meet in the theater" Voight started to walking up to the desk.

"Sure" Jay said taking in his surroundings and following Hank up to the hotel.

Jay and Hank walked in silence for a few moments before Hank finally spoke up.

"You gonna start talking or am I going to have to guess?"

Jay was quiet for a second as he tried to find the right words.

"There's really no easy way to even ask you this..."

Hank stopped walking short of the steps to the hotel. "What is it? Do you have another job or something? Some other unit you want to go to?"

Jay shook his head "No"

"You dying?" Hank asked shrugging his shoulders.

"I want to marry Erin" Jay confessed as he looked Hank in the eyes.

Hank took a step towards Jay who took a step back from him "Oh, so you just have a death wish?"

Jay sighed and shook his head "No, I just...'

"You what? We're surrounded by water so choose your words wisely if you want an open casket" Hank shot.

The sound of a clearing throat caused Hank to look up from where he was and he saw Al standing at the top of the stairs and Al gave a shake of the head as an effort to calm Hank down.

Hank looked from Al to Jay and sighed. "Let's go for a walk"

Jay watched as Hank took off down the gravel trail and he stood in his spot for a moment before Hank turned around and looked at him.

"Are you coming?" Hank asked.

Jay nodded and followed Hank down the trail.

Al stood on the porch of the hotel and shook his head with a smile as he thought of a younger version of him and Hank and how Camille's father had reacted when Hank had asked him for permission to marry Camille.

Al smiled sadly at the memory of Camille. He thought back to all of the times that he and Meredith had had with Hank and Camille and what a loss that was felt when Camille passed from cancer.

Al watched as Hank and Jay made their way down the path and out of sight and he walked inside the hotel and into the bar to order him and Hank a drink.

Because he knew his best friend was going to need it.

 **000000000000000000**

Jay and Hank walked down to the water and Hank took a seat on the bench by the lake.

Jay watched Hank for a moment before moving to sit down next to him.

"Jay..." Hank started.

Jay shook his head and looked at Hank. "Before you try to talk me out of it I want you to know that nothing you say is going to stop me from asking her."

Hank turned his head and looked at Jay. "Is that so?"

Jay nodded "So regardless of what you say to me, I'm still going to ask her"

"I don't understand why you can't just wait. You know how much she's been through in the last few months, she's in no way ready for that kind of a commitment. You know that" Hank said.

Jay narrowed a brow at Hank as he looked at him. "I know exactly what she's been through in the last few months. I've been with her every single step of the way. She's doing so much better Hank, she's happy, she's healthy and how you think I'd ever take advantage of her health or mindset is beyond me"

Hank shook his head "I didn't say that, you're twisting my words, Jay"

Hank stood from the bench and walked towards the hotel.

Jay stood from the bench as Hank walked away "Erin values your opinion more than anything else in this world. I know, without a doubt that she'd do anything for you, without you asking. You're the closest thing she has to a father and I know that she'd never agree to anything without your support"

"Yeah?" Hank said as he turned around to look at Jay.

Jay was quiet as Hank looked at him.

Hank stood and looked at Jay and gave a nod. "If you're going to ask her no matter what I say, why do you care about my permission so much?"

Jay looked out at the water before looking at Hank and he took a shaky breath before he spoke.

"I love her, Hank. More than I've ever loved anyone or anything in my entire life. I would go to the ends of the Earth to make her happy. And I intend to see that every dream that she has comes true. I know that you think she's going to somehow sacrifice because of me and I want you to know that's not true. If anything, she's going to have everything she could ever want. She makes me so happy every single stubborn, pain in the ass thing she does makes me happy. And I can only hope that I make her just as happy. You know better than anyone the beautiful heart that she has and how vulnerable she is around those that she trusts the most. That vulnerability is one of the many reasons I fell in love with her. And I can promise you with my life that all the hurt she's had in her past, is going to stay in her past. I'm going to ask her no matter what you say. But regardless of how you feel about me, please know that while we both love Erin, in completely different ways, we both want the same thing for her...To be happy. And I want to make her so happy"

Hank stood and looked at Jay and gave a nod. "What if she says no? You two still have to work together. Can you actually stand there and tell me that you're still going to have her back day in and day out if she breaks your heart"

"Always" Jay said.

Hank walked a few steps toward Jay and studied him for a few long seconds. "If you ever hurt her, I'll kill you"

Jay felt instant relief as he smiled wide. "I'd never hurt her. You have my word"

"God help me" Hank said as he looked at Jay and turned to walk away.

Jay watched Hank walk away before he called to him.

"Hank?"

Hank stopped walking and turned to look at Jay. "Yeah?"

"Thank you" Jay said.

Hank gave a nod as he looked at Jay and he gave him a small smile. "Don't make me regret this Jay"

"No sir" Jay said.

 **000000000000000000**

Jay walked up the steps to the Grand Hotel and he smiled when he saw Erin standing in the lobby talking to Burgess.

He walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her and Erin smiled as she leaned back into him.

"Where'd you go?" Erin asked as she looked at him.

"Just took a walk with Hank" Jay explained as he looked across the lobby and saw Hank standing and talking to Al with a glass of scotch.

"Everything OK?" Erin asked as she looked up at him and followed his gaze over to where Hank was standing.

Jay smiled and looked back at Erin before linking his fingers through hers

"Everything is great, it couldn't be better. It's going to be a great weekend" Jay assured.

"You sound pretty sure of yourself with that statement" Erin teased as she and Jay walked hand in hand over to the elevator to go up to their room.

Jay's hand went down to his pocket where he felt the box to his mother's ring and a smile grew on his lips.

"I just have a feeling it's going to be a dream come true"

"We'll see" Erin said with a smile as the elevator doors opened and the two stepped in.

"Speaking of "We'll see" I believe you were VERY handsy on the bus ride over here" Jay teased as he pulled Erin to him as the doors closed behind them.

"Yeah?" Erin said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "What are you going to do about it?"

Jay groaned as he dropped his head down to nuzzle his nose against Erin's. "You'll see"

"You gonna try to play Scrabble with me?" Erin teased as she stepped even closer to Jay so that their bodies were pressed against each other.

Jay cleared his throat as the elevator doors dinged open and an elderly couple gave them a smile and stepped on the elevator and he grabbed Erin by the hand as he pulled her behind him.

"We're outta here...We gotta go"


	9. I Put A Spell On You Because You're Mine

**This one shot takes place around Chapter 52 of Undercover Honeymoon. It's a Halloween one shot and I hope that you guys like it.**

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"I'll see you when you get home" Erin said into the phone as she hung up with Jay and walked out of the 21st and across the parking lot.

She was tired and she just wanted to get home to her baby girl who she was missing like crazy. While she wasn't quite ready to come back to IU just yet, she'd taken on filling in at the desk while Platt was on vacation.

"Erin - wait up!" The sound of heels on the pavement as Burgess chased Erin through the parking lot echoed in the October air. Erin, a few steps from her car, stopped and turned towards her. She smiled when Burgess arrived, leaned her arm against the car and heaved dramatically.

"Running in heels is a bitch! Especially when you're chasing someone who walks as freakishly fast as you do. I've got to remember to wear flats next time I go undercover."

Erin laughed and . "Right. What do you want Kim?"

Burgess rolled her eyes. "Straight to the point, as always. You know, we are friends, chit-chat is sometimes a good thing, Erin."

Erin nodded and ran a hand through her hair as she looked at Kim. "I figured you got all your talking out at lunch. Besides, it's been a long day and I just kind of want to get home and forget that this day happened"

"It was a really hard case. You're right about that. But I paid for lunch, I don't know what you're complaining about" Burgess said as she finally caught her breath.

When Erin didn't respond, Burgess sighed, "Okay. Fine. I wanted to ask you what you're wearing for Halloween tonight."

"I'm not really into dress-up, you know me, I'll probably just stick to jeans and a t-shirt. Plus, I'm a mom. And moms don't do the whole dress up thing" Erin smiled at Burgess's disgusted sigh.

"Hey, don't blame your refusal to take part in Halloween dress up on sweet baby Everly. Besides you need to have some fun. Just come to my and Adam's place I'm sure that I have something that you can wear"

Erin blinked at Burgess slowly, trying to determine if she was serious or not. "Uhm, that's really not necessary. Besides..."

Burgess just grinned. "Don't make me play the pregnant friend card. You're coming. Or I'm coming to your place. I have the perfect outfit for you - for sure it will make Jay want to get you pregnant all over again."

The sudden heat rushing up her face caught Erin off guard, as did the restrictive tightening of her throat. "You're out of your mind. Believe me, she's getting another tooth so another baby is the last thing that Jay and I want right now." she squeaked.

"Oh please. Your husband is so in love with you and if you still don't see that one wedding and one baby later. Then I don't even know what to say to you. Besides, he's been working really hard on this case, he needs to relax and I'm sure that you of all people could be the one to give him said "Relaxation"" Burgess smiled at her best friend with genuine affection. "Without my help, Everly is going to be an only child and you and Jay are going to be sticks in the mud who don't know how to have fun. So, I'm asking you on behalf of Baby Ruzek that you please come to my and Adam's Halloween party and let me help you. So. You following me?"

Erin sighed. "You're going to be relentless about this, aren't you?"

"Absolutely. I'm a Chicago cop after all. It's what we do."

Erin threw her hands up in the air, embarrassed but secretly pleased Burgess wanted to help her out. "Alright. Just give me a chance to get over to Jay's mom's house and make sure she's OK to watch Everly for the night.."

"Great!" Burgess said with a smile and pulled Erin into a hug.

 **0000000000000000000**

"Finally!" Kim said as she heard the knock on the door of her and Adam's apartment.

"Who is that?" Adam asked as he looked up from the TV from his place on the couch.

"It's Erin" Kim said as she opened the door to the apartment.

"Hey" Erin said with a smile

"Hey" Kim said taking Erin by the hand and pulling her back towards the bedroom.

"What's going on?" Adam asked as he looked away from the TV.

"Just eat your Hot Pocket, baby. Don't worry" Kim said as she pulled Erin behind her and closed the bedroom door.

"First things first," Burgess said as she pulled Erin over to the vanity in the corner. "We're going to do your make-up."

"Do you want to tell me what I'm going to be dressed as?" Erin's voice was sarcastic as she looked at the array before her. "I'm not into costumes, Burgess. So go easy on me. I just had a baby, so I don't want anything too trashy either"

Burgess smiled mysteriously. "Definitely not too trashy. And I'm not telling you what you're wearing - it's a surprise. Just be a girl for once and let me do your makeup"

Erin heard her phone buzz and she reached for it off of the vanity as Kim busied herself getting the make up ready.

Erin smiled at the picture Jay's mom had sent her of Everly asleep in her arms with the caption "Having fun with Grandma. Have fun mommy"

Kim smiled when she saw the picture on Erin's phone and she ran a hand over her slight bump knowing she couldn't wait for pictures like that of her and Adam's baby.

Burgess then started to do Erin's makeup. "You've really beautiful, you know that Erin? You should wear make-up more than you do."

"Gee, thanks" Erin snorted, careful not to move her head.

Burgess had her chin gripped lightly in her hand, and was turning her face from one side to another.

"Actually, you don't even really need a lot of foundation, but I need to make you look paler than normal for this too work."

"I don't want to go as a zombie. I'm not sure what you've heard. But you know necrophilia isn't Jay's "thing" right?"

Burgess laughed at the teasing tone in Erin's voice. "Trust me, you will not look like a dead body when we're finished. Trust me when I'm done, Jay's not going to be able to keep his hands off of you."

Erin felt herself blushing again, as close as friends as she and Kim had become, she still found herself having trouble with the whole "Girl Talk" part of their friendship. It wasn't really something she'd ever had with any of her other friends before and she had to remind herself that someone like Kim was her genuine friend and not just someone who was out to hurt her.

"What makes you think that I'm even after turning my husband's head? I've grown pretty tired of his ways to be honest. I think it's time I move on to someone else, don't you?" Erin tried to keep her voice casual, but even to her own ears it sounded wistful.

"You're kidding me. right? If there were ever two people that were supposed to be together it's you and Jay. And even though I know you're joking about it, you'd never tire of him." She grinned at Erin, ordering her to shut her eyes, before continuing. "Did I ever tell you about when Jay stayed with Adam the night before your wedding?."

"No" Erin said as she felt Burgess let go of her face and look for something else on the vanity.

"When he came over to stay with Adam I was getting ready to come over to your place to stay with you and he and Adam were in the kitchen talking and Hank had stopped by to pick up his tux that Adam had gotten from the rental shop and Hank saw Jay and asked him if he was having cold feet and Jay without missing a beat Jay said never, that he couldn't wait to make you his wife and knowing that he got to spend the rest of his life with you was all he was ever going to need. He just talked Hank's ear off about you and how much he loved you"

"He said that?" Erin asked. Still finding it hard to believe that Jay was still that in love with her.

"Yeah, I didn't say it to make you sad or anything, Erin. I just thought think if someone says such wonderful things about you that you should know about it"

Erin tried not to sound skeptical when she responded. "Thanks Kim."

Burgess nodded and gave Erin a smile."You're welcome"

"I guess I just feel like things have been kind of strained since Nadia..." Erin's voice trailed off as she thought of her late friend.

"I know..." Burgess said as she listened to Erin's voice trail off. "And while I can't tell you a lot of things for sure, I know that Jay's love for you has not wavered from the moment that he met you. It killed him knowing you were hurting so badly and he couldn't do anything to help you"

Erin nodded "I know that. Sometimes I don't know how he puts up with me. It's not like I've ever done anything that really signifies a reason for him to love me"

Burgess shook her head "That's because it's a million tiny little things that when they all add up, it means you're meant to be together"

"Way to quote "Sleepless in Seattle" Erin teased.

"So? It still counts. There's not one specific reason that Jay's in love with you. It's a million different reasons. The fact that you always fill his coffee cup up for him, the way that you always give him a pat on the shoulder when you walk past him, Or a look across the bull pen at work. The fact that you're an amazing mother to your daughter, or that you know without words what he needs when he needs it. Erin, you're the kind of couple that other couples wish that they were. I know Adam loves me, I don't doubt it for a second, but it's a daily effort some days to keep that love intact. You and Jay have always made it look so easy, like it's just some natural thing you do...like breathing" Burgess explained.

"Thanks" Erin said with a smile.

"You're welcome" Kim said as she reached for some lip liner.

Burgess quickly traced the outline of Erin's mouth with a deep red lip- liner, before expertly shading in the rest with a flame red the color of Chinese silk. "Hot. This looks great. I'm going to do your hair before I put on the mascara."

Erin sat, quietly thoughtful, while Burgess finished working on her face and hair. "Hot mom alert," she teased, "Now let's put this on."

Erin watched as Kim pulled a garmet bag out of her closet and laid it across the bed.

"No way! I cannot wear that!" Erin sputtered nervously, looking at the outfit Burgess had laid on her bed.

"Why? And don't use the "I'm a mom" excuse again. Yeah, you're a mom, but you're a hot mom and you've got the body for this. Plus, it's for Jay remember?."

"What if we get called to a crime scene? I can't show up to a call looking like this."

"Why not?" Burgess teased. "You'd be the topic of conversation all the way down to the 1st district."

When Erin glared at her, Burgess just laughed. "You can change if we get called anywhere. C'mon, Erin. Live a little - it's Halloween, you're supposed to dress up."

Erin lifted the top half of the costume, fingering it dubiously. "What makes you think this will shake Jay up?"

"Trust me. It will. Remember when they found Nadia in that massage parlor? Jay found her outfit very interesting."

"I can't believe you're talking me into this."

Burgess grinned. "Adam does say I am pretty persuasive when I wanna be. Plus, it's your favor to your pregnant friend remember?"

"It's pretty low playing the pregnant friend card" Erin said as she looked at Kim.

"Says you. You played the pregnant friend card many of times with me." Kim teased as there was a knock on the bedroom door.

"Burgess?" Adam called as he tried to open the door. "Darlin' the door is locked"

Kim quickly ran over to the door and leaned against it. "I know, I'm helping Erin with something. What do you need?"

"I just wanted to let you know I'm heading out and I'm going to meet the guys for the party. You sure you're OK?" Adam said through the door.

"I'm fine" Burgess assured.

"Can I have a kiss before I go?" Adam asked.

Kim looked at Erin who shook her head no.

"No. I'll just see you tonight. I had some Doritos for a snack. You don't want a Dorito breath kiss. I'll see you later. Love you" Kim said.

"Yeah..." Adam's voice trailed off "Love you too"

 **0000000000000000000**

Burgess arrived back at the 21st and made her way to the basement she and Adam had talked talked Hank Voight into letting them use for the Halloween party about 10 minutes before Erin did. She had driven like a speed demon, oblivious to the speed limit, anticipating the look on Jay's face when he would see Erin's costume for the first time. Burgess herself had dressed as a sexy cow costume. A knee length white dress with black spots and a tail attached to the back that she'd paired with a cow ears headband and was now standing near the punch bowl with Adam, laughing at everyone's costumes.

Adam was dressed as a cowboy - and he looked great. When Kim had commented to him on the outfit, he had just smiled and kissed. "It's all about the chaps, Darlin' maybe you'll see them assless if you play your cards right."

Burgess had to admit, the black leather chaps against his tight blue jeans looked made her fiancee look amazing, but she couldn't let her pregnancy hormones have her pulling Adam out the door before the party was over. So she just smiled and rolled her eyes.

 **0000000000000000000**

Burgess sighed when she saw Jay coming in the basement of the 21st. She grabbed him by the hand before dragging Jay down the hall towards the lounge, berating him for not wearing a costume, when he suddenly stopped dead in the middle of the hallway. The sudden loss of momentum caused Burgess to stumble, and she would have fallen over if Jay hadn't reached out an absent hand to steady her.

Burgess smiled when she saw who Jay was staring at. Erin had arrived. She smiled and backed away slowly as she watched Erin her husband, smiling tentatively as she noticed the complete shock on his face.

"Where's your costume?"

Jay swallowed thickly before clearing his throat. "What're...what...are you wearing?"

Smiling at the low rumble in his voice, Erin did a slow turn and smoothed her hands nervously across her hips. "My costume - Do you not like it?"

She shifted uncomfortably as Jay's gaze traveled over her, still unsure whether to curse Burgess or to thank her. She was wearing knee high black stiletto boots, fish net stockings and a short sexy cop costume. For added effect, Burgess had added Erin's badge and a pair of handcuffs to the belt around the short costume skirt.

Burgess had done her makeup expertly, smoking her eyes with smudged black eyeliner. Copious amounts of mascara and the bright red lipstick emphasized the perfection of her lips. Jay stood in his spot still speechless and unable to find the words for how sexy his wife looked.

Before she could stop herself, she reached out a hand and placed it gently on the pulse point on his neck. "What's wrong. Jay?" she murmured throatily. When Jay didn't respond, her smile grew even larger. "Are you thirsty?"

"Er...I..." Jay's voice trailed off

Lifting her hand and patting him lightly on the cheek, she turned away from him. "I'm going to go for a walk. I'll see you around...Jay"

His eyes burned through her back as he watched the sway of her hips before he followed his wife down the hall.

 **0000000000000000000**

Jay shut the door to the break room attached to the bullpen gently, despite the urge to slam it as hard as he could. He pulled the blinds closed before turning to Erin, he stared at her in silence for a few moments, making her squirm.

"Don't you think this is a bit over the top, Erin?" His voice was tight, and Erin noticed he was gripping the back of a chair so hard his knuckles were white.

"What? This costume? It's Halloween, Jay. No one else seemed to object."

"Of course not. They're all too busy doorling over you - like you were a sex object."

Erin grinned. "No one was 'drooling over me'. Jay! look at how everyone else is dressed. Hell, Gaby is dressed like a sexy firefighter and you don't seem to have a problem with that."

"Gaby's not you." Jay whispered harshly. "Besides, you're my wife not these other girls."

Erin shrugged, suddenly angry. "Really? At least someone around here knows that. Thanks for pointing that out to me. I must've forgotten that somehow" Erin spun on her heels the sound of the handcuffs jingling filled the heated

Jay's nostrils flared in anger, and he let go of his chair and strode towards her. "Do you think this is funny?"

"Actually, yes. I don't know who you think you're talking to, Jay, but I'm a grown woman. I'm your wife; I am your colleague. And unless you have a really good reason for objecting to this costume, I'm going back to join the others."

She cocked an eyebrow at him, waiting for his response, sighing when it looked like she wasn't going to get one. Turning angrily on her heels, she took a step towards the door.

"I don't want anyone else but me to see you like that." Jay's hoarse admission stopped her in her tracks.

"Well, I guess you're just going to have to look somewhere else tonight. Because I'm not changing" Erin said as she took off for the door of the break room.

Erin reached for the knob and pulled the door open before she felt Jay's hand push against it and slam it shut.

Erin turned to look at her husband and saw his eyes dark with desire for her. Her eyes searched his for a few seconds before she spoke.

"I'm going back to the party"

Jay leaned down and nuzzled his nose against Erin's "Don't press your luck with me, Erin. Stop"

"What're you going to do if I don't?" Erin challenged her firey gaze still locked on Jay's.

Jay's gaze searched Erin's for a moment before he crashed his lips onto hers and pressed his body against hers trapping her between him and the door.

Erin moaned into the kiss as she and Jay broke apart long enough for her to get the much needed air that their lungs were aching for.

Erin crushed her mouth back against Jay's as she reached for the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it up over his head and dropped it onto the floor as he pulled her back towards the couch of the breakroom.

 **0000000000000000000**

Erin's body collapsed against Jay's as she struggled to catch her breath. Pieces of her costume and Jay's clothes were scattered from the door to the couch and she nuzzled her head under his neck as she laid her head against his chest.

Jay tilted his head up and placed a kiss on the top of Erin's sweaty head as he ran his hand down her sweat slicked back.

"That was amazing" Jay said as his breathing returned to normal.

Erin smiled and placed a kiss on his bare chest as she made a mental note to think Burgess for the costume.

At least what was left of it.

 **0000000000000000000**


	10. That's What Friends Are For

**So, it's been a really long time since I've updated this story in awhile, but I recently found some inspiration and I hope that you like it.**

 **000000000**

Everly sat in the passenger seat of Louie Casey's car as he drove down the road. Her father had finally come around to the idea of Louie and the two had started dating the summer before Louie left for college.

While the two had talked almost every day since her boyfriend had left for school, Everly couldn't help but feel that something about him had changed. A change she wasn't sure she liked, but he was so cute...and she was the only one of her friends to have a COLLEGE boyfriend. So, she pushed all the bad thoughts out of her head.

"So," Everly said, trying to stay cool, "What movie do you want to see?"

"Yeah, about that," Louie said, "There's this awesome party at a friend from school's house tonight. I was thinkin' we'd go check that out instead. You in?"

"Will any parents be there?" Everly asked as she looked out the window from her spot in the passenger seat.

Louie laughed. "That's a good one, babe. You're cute."

Everly's heart fluttered in her chest. But wait, her parents would freak if they knew she was going to a party with no adults there. But it was a college party. All the cool people would be there. It would be so lame for her not to go. She was cool, after all. High schoolers went to parties like this all the time, right? She flipped her dark brown hair back over her shoulder like she'd seen some girls do and flashed him a smile. "Let's go."

"You're the best, Ev" Louie said with a smile as he reached his hand away from the wheel and reaching his hand out to take hers.

 **000000000**

Everly had never seen so many people in one place. Music was blaring so loud, she could barely hear Louie when he said he would go get them some drinks. He disappeared into the crowd, and she cautiously backed up against the wall so as not to get lost in the sea of people. She wrinkled her nose. It smelled weird in this house. Like, nauseatingly sweet. She scanned the crowd as she waited for Louie. She didn't see anyone she knew. Everyone was taller than her, and she felt uncomfortable at the looks and comments these guys gave her as they walked by.A couple slammed against the wall, making out more fiercely than she ever thought possible. How the hell did they breathe?

"Hey," Louie shouted, startling her a bit. He smiled and handed her a beer, popping the top off for her. She stared at it. "What's wrong, babe?" he asked with a frown. "You can't be serious that this is your first beer, right?"

She shook her head. "Lame, right?"

Louie smiled. "Well here," he said, placing it in her hand. "Allow me to do the honor of giving you your first beer. Cheers." He clinked the necks of their bottles together and downed half of his. Everly hesitated for a moment. Her parents always told her not to drink. But what could it hurt? It's not like she was driving, and she wouldn't drink enough to make herself sick. Just one would be fine. They'd never have to know anyways. She brought the bottle to her mouth, hoping it would taste better than it smelled. It didn't. It was really bitter and almost made her gag. She looked over at Louie who was working on draining the last of his. How in the world did he do it? Did he actually like the taste? Well, Everly most certainly didn't, and she was not going to force herself to drink the rest.

While her boyfriend finished his off, she dumped the rest of hers into a nearby potted plant. When Louie looked back at her, he smirked. "Alright. I like a girl that can drink as much as me. It's hot."

This time, Everly didn't really feel that fluttering sensation when he called her hot. Why would drinking a lot make her attractive? It didn't make sense. She was happy when he suggested they go and dance. That was something she could have fun with.

Or so she thought.

This was not the kind of dancing she was used to. Louie stood behind her and moved against her body in a way that made her feel extremely uncomfortable. But she convinced herself that it was something you had to get used to. Then his hands slid around her waist, holding her tighter against him and moved his hands down to where he was grabbing her hips. Really low on her hips. That combined with the way he began to kiss her neck was just too much for Everly to take.

Everly intertwined their hands and moved out of his grasp as she turned to face him. "Louie..."

Louie sighed and looked at his girlfriend and shook his head. What was her problem? She didn't understand how life was so different in college. He wasn't just some lieutenant's son, he was free to be himself and didn't have to worry about being forced onto a pedestal that his parents put him and his younger brother on.

"Um, I'll be right back," Everly said, wrestling free of Louie's grasp. "I have to go to the bathroom."

She hurried away before he could even answer her. Luckily, she was actually able to find the bathroom, and luckily, it wasn't occupied. Locking the door behind her, she finally gave into her shaking knees and slid to the floor. This was not how tonight was supposed to go. She just wanted to go home, but something told her Louie wouldn't take her if she asked him. But if she called her parents, she'd be in big trouble. What was she going to do?

 **000000000**

"Adam," Jay's frantic voice came through the phone.

"Jay?" Ruzek frowned, concerned by his friend's tone.

"Everly was supposed to be home half an hour ago," he explained, sounding as though he would begin shouting or crying at any minute, "And she won't answer her phone. I'm going to go find her..."

"I'm in," Adam said before Jay could even ask.

"Thanks. Caleb is with Hank and Atwater's staying here with Nora and Arden, Will already went to go check the theater. Erin and I are going to go look around downtown, and you..."

"I'll go to the park. That's where I always took my dates in high school."

"Ok, thanks man," Jay said as he and Erin jumped in their car.

Dear God, he hoped they weren't at the park. Thinking of his daughter dating a teenage Adam Ruzek was not what he needed right now.

He just wanted to know Everly was OK. He'd kill her later, after he hugged her of course.

"Jay..." Erin started as she looked out the window.

Fear like she hadn't felt since Everly was a baby and narrowly avoided being hit by a car filled her every cell.

"She's fine" Jay assured as he reached his hand over and interlocked their fingers.

 **000000000**

Taking out her phone, Everly called the first person she could think of. It only took a couple of rings for him to answer. "Hello?" a deep voice said on the other end of the line.

Everly's eyes welled up with tears of relief at the sound of his voice. "Jackson?" she sniffed.

"Everly? What's wrong?" he asked, trying not to panic at the sound of his lifelong crush crying.

Jackson wasn't as popular as Everly, they ran in different crowds, she was the cheerleader with the looks and the friends. Jackson's interests were more about golf and studying to follow into his mother and father's footsteps and becoming a member of the Chicago Police Department.

He had his group of friends, and while he got along with everyone, he wasn't nearly the social butterfly that the girl he'd liked since he could remember was.

"Can... can you c-come and g-get me?" she asked, trying desperately not to break down completely right there in the bathroom.

"Of course. Where are you?" he asked, already grabbing his keys.

"Um... I don't know. I-it's a r-really big h-house. Um, I think, I think it's outside of t-town..."

"Ok, ok," he said softly, "Don't worry about it. I'll find you. I'll be right there."

"Ok. Thanks, Jackson."

"Anything for you, Ev," he said. Flooring the gas, he raced down the road.

He knew she was on a date with Louie. And although he didn't know where she was, he had at least a general location. He'd find her. Jackson sighed as he drove, their group of friends had always been really close, but things changed when Louie left for college. It was like his priorities completely changed and everyone around him could see how different he was...everyone but Everly.

But, If Everly needed him, he sure as hell was not going to let her down. And if that idiot Louie had made her cry, he'd better run.

Fast.

 **000000000**

"Hey babe," Louie called as he made his way down to where Everly sat on the curb waiting for Jackson to pick her up. "What're you doin' out here?"

"Oh um, I just needed to get some fresh air," Everly lied quickly.

"Well come back inside," he said, pulling her up to her feet.

"N-no Thanks," she said, moving away from him. "I'm actually not feeling well. I'm gonna go home. Thanks for tonight though."

"Hey, it's still early," he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her so close, she could smell the alcohol on his breath. "Come back inside."

He reached out to stroke her cheek. She tried to turn her head, but he held her still and kissed her. He kissed her so hard it almost hurt. This wasn't the Louie she knew, it wasn't the Louie she was in love with, He wasn't the Louie who told her how much he loved her, It wasn't the Louie she'd lost her virginity to on her 16th birthday. And she fought back tears as she pushed against his chest so he'd let her go

She suddenly remembered a story she once heard Platt tell about life on the streets. So, as hard as she could, Everly raised the small heel of her boot and slammed it down on Louie' foot. He let go automatically, but not long enough for her to get away.

He grabbed her arm again. "Let me go," she ordered.

"This date is over when I say it's over," he snapped.

"Wrong," a voice practically growled from behind him. "It's over right now."

Everly looked over Louie's shoulder to see Jackson coming towards them, a frightening look on his face. She smiled. "I believe she asked you to let her go," Jackson said, looking as threatening as he sounded.

Louie locked eyes with Jackson, letting go of Everly's arm. But then he swung his fist, hitting Jackson square in the jaw. Although Jackson wasn't one much for violence, his dad had often spent time showing him how to defend himself. He had learned how to fight out of necessity. And when necessary, he could throw a pretty good punch. So after spitting some blood out of his mouth, he turned and hit Louie so hard, the kid went down. And he stayed down.

"Oh my God," Everly gasped.

"Are you ok?" Jackson asked her, wrapping her in a tight embrace. She nodded, and he could feel her tears soaking through his t-shirt. "Let's get you home."

One arm wrapped tightly around Everly's shoulders, Jackson led her to his car. She was completely quiet as he drove, simply staring out the window, watching trees and houses fly by. Jackson couldn't decide if her silence was a blessing or a curse. His little sister, Abby, never stopped talking it seemed, and, much as he loved his little sister, sometimes he longed for just one moment's peace.

But now he'd give anything for Everly to say something, anything, just so he'd know she was alright. He cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly, and asked, "You doin' ok?"

She nodded.

"You wanna talk about it?"

She stayed quiet for a while, and Jackson assumed he wasn't going to get anything out of her, until he finally heard her say softly, "I feel dumb."

"You shouldn't."

"Oh yeah? He asked me to go to the party and I said yes. It's not like he made me. I chose to go. But, oh Jackson! It was so... awful! Mom and Dad are gonna kill me. I'm so stupid."

"Hey," Jackson said, feigning offense, "That's my friend you're talking about." Though there were tears in her eyes, he was happy to see her almost crack a smile.

At least one corner of her mouth turned up anyway. He reached out an squeezed her knee comfortingly. "You're not dumb. You know how I know that?"

"How?"

"Because I know you. You've got a good head on your shoulders, and you're a lot more mature than most girls your age. A lot more so than Abby is, anyway," he said, then cringed slightly. "Don't tell her I said that."

Now a small smile did appear on Everly's face.

"You didn't do anything wrong by dating Louie, or by going to that party," he continued. "You didn't know it would be like that, did you?" Everly shook her head. "And while you were there, did you, uh... do anything you... didn't like?" he asked, forcing the question out of his mouth and praying to God she'd say no.

"Well, Mom and Dad always told me not to drink alcohol, but I took a sip of beer anyway. I didn't like it though, so I poured it out in a plant."

Jackson couldn't help but laugh a bit in relief. "See?" he smiled at her. "You're not dumb. And you called me when you wanted to go home, instead of staying somewhere you were uncomfortable. I'm glad you did too. You can always call me, and I'll always come, alright?" Everly nodded, visibly a bit more relaxed than she had been when she first got in the car.

"And I'll tell you the same thing I told Abby," he said sternly. "Any jerk that ever tries to lay a hand on you, you just let me know and I'll take care of them, okay?"

"I just don't know what went wrong. He was so sweet and charming and kind and everything I thought I wanted before he went to college...I slept with him, Jack...He told me he loved me...and he lied" Everly confessed as she started to cry.

The realization of everything she'd given to a boy who'd changed his mind finally setting in. And the pain she felt as her heart was breaking was unlike anything she'd felt in her 16 years of life.

Jackson sighed as he listened to Everly talk to him. He knew that she and Louie were serious, but he had no idea they were that serious. "I'm really sorry, Ev. And I know that nothing I can say is going to make it better, but I want you to know that I'm always going to be here for you if you need a friend and Louie is not worth this. He's just got a lot going on, Ev...People change and they grow apart and you deserve so much better. And trust me, Louie is going to realize what he lost. You're about as good as it gets"

Everly nodded and wiped her eyes as she started to calm down. "I'm really sorry that we drifted apart this year. I just got caught up in being this person that all my friends wanted me to be. And I lost the person that I was"

Jackson nodded as he drove down the road "I miss you, Ev. I'll always like you, and I'm always going to think you're the prettiest girl in the room...but If you're looking for me to disagree with who you are at school vs. who you are at home? I'm not. You're so much more than a cheerleading uniform and a snarky comment to an underclassman. You're the girl who is sixteen and likes watching Blackhawks games with her dad, you're the girl who likes playing board games with her siblings in her pajamas, the only girl our age I know that's close with her mother"

Everly smiled as they pulled up to her house. "Thanks, Jackson."

"Any time, Ev," he smiled back at her. "And, hey, don't worry about your mom and dad either. They might be a little mad, but they know you're a smart girl. Yeah, you wound up in a bad situation, but you handled it well. Everything'll be okay."

Everly nodded as they walked up on the lit front porch. Atwater met them at the door, wrapping Everly in a tight hug. "Everly, why don't you go change into pajama's or something? I'll call your mom and dad and let them know you're home."

 **000000000**

"Jay, we've looked everywhere!" Erin cried from the passenger side of the car. "What if she's hurt? What if we can't find her?"

"We'll find her," Jay said, his eyes focused on the road. He knew if he saw Erin's panicked expression, he would lose it too. And one of them had to keep their heads. Because they would find her. There were no "what if's".

They were both quiet for a moment, lost in their own worlds, until Erin said, "You were right. She's too young to date, and he is too old for her. I should have listened to you. If I had we wouldn't be here right now. It was fine when they were in high school...but when he went to college...I should've listened to Gaby when she talked about all the trouble they were having out of Louie...I just didn't see it"

Taking one hand off the wheel, Jay reached over to rest his hand on her leg. Erin grasped it in hers and held onto it like a lifeline. "Er, don't do that to yourself," he sighed wearily. "There was no way either of us could know this was going to happen."

"I know, but... Jay, she's my little girl," she sniffed, tears filling her eyes, not for the first time that night. "I mean, I know she's almost seventeen, but she's the one that made me a mom and, and when we finally had our family, I promised I wouldn't ever let anything happen to them, and now..."

Jay kissed her hand, unable to speak past the sob in his throat.

"I'm calling the police," Erin said suddenly, reaching for her phone. Just as she did though, it started ringing with Jackson's name and picture lighting up the screen. She quickly answered it.

"Jackson? Look, sweetie, I can't talk right now. Everly is... she what?" Erin practically shrieked. Jay's heart hammered in his chest as he waited for her to tell him the news, praying to God that whatever it was was good. "Ok, yes we'll be right there! Thank you! Tell her we love her! Ok, bye."

"Well?" Jay asked anxiously.

"He found her. She's home."

Jay breathed a sigh of relief as a giant weight lifted off his chest. "Oh thank God."

The garage door slammed and Jackson heard Erin call for him. "In here," he answered.

Erin and Jay all but ran into the living room.

"She's ok," Jackson smiled, looking to where Everly had fallen asleep on the couch.

Erin raced over to her daughter, kissing her cheek and smoothing back her hair. For the moment, Jay was just content to watch.

Jackson came to stand beside him. "Thank you," Jay whispered. Jackson just nodded. "Where was she?"

"A party just outside of town. One of those new, really big houses," Jackson told him. "Don't worry about killing Louie. I took care of him. I mean, I didn't kill him...but he won't be bothering Ev anymore"

Jay smirked, noticing Jackson's busted lip. "I can see that. Thanks, Jackson."

"Anytime," Jackson nodded. "That's what family's for."

"The guest room's made up. Why don't you stay here tonight?" Jay suggested.

"Thanks, but I should head home," he smiled before giving a last look to Everly before heading out.

Jay finally approached his sleeping daughter, kneeling down beside Erin . He kissed Everly's head and put an arm around his wife.

"She's still our little girl," Erin sighed, resting her head on his shoulder.

Jay smiled. "And she always will be. She's grounded though, right?"

"Oh, for the rest of her life" Erin sighed with relief


	11. If He's Anything Like Me

**Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter. I appreciate them so very much.**

 **I recieved a review with someone upset that the one-shots focused too much on Everly, and I apologize for that. But like I've said before, all the one-shots that I write for Undercover LIfe are requests and if the requests aren't smut filled (ex. The reviewer who requested the missing chapter on the Fifty Shades of Grey story when Everly was born. I like your style and I feel ya...I'm also working on it) they're usually about Jay's relationship with Everly.**

 **So, I just do what I'm asked to do. Or at least try to.**

 **To be honest, there's really not motivation to write Linstead, because they're in relationship limbo and I like writing happy Linstead and Linstead as a family, because let's be real, it's probably something we're never going to get on the show. Just because of how the setup of Chicago PD is.**

 **But PLEASE, if you have a request for a one shot of any kind for Undercover Life, just ask. I can't write something if you don't request it, I can only write what I'm asked to write.**

 **Thanks, and I hope you like it.**

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Three year old Caleb Halstead was on a mission. He had woken up before the crack of dawn, something unheard of in the Halstead household. But this was important. This mission had to succeed. The little boy opened his door slowly and sighed in relief when the corridor was clear.

Stage one complete.

He closed his door quietly behind him and tiptoed to the stairs, wishing he had remembered to put on his green dinosaur slippers that his Grandpa Hank had given him for his birthday. But he was too far away from his room now. He would endure cold toes for the sake of his mission.

Caleb padded slowly down the stairs, holding the banister for support as he took an exaggerated step to avoid the creaky seventh stair, then walked as quickly as possible down the rest of the wooden steps as it was without making any noise. He took a moment to congratulate himself on getting downstairs with being detected.

Stage two complete.

Caleb felt himself start to drool as he got closer to his target. His mommy's double chocolate chip cookies. The best cookies the three year old has ever tasted, and probably ever will. At least in his completely unbiased opinion.

The cookies were perfectly soft and squidgy, but never fell apart. His mother had made two batches of the heavenly cookies for his cousin Owen's birthday party so they were under no circumstances to be touched, eaten or even looked at by the kids or their father, as she had warned them so clearly last night.

But Caleb was only going to take two. One milk chocolate chip and another white chocolate.

His mom would never realise. The boy was so caught up in these thoughts that he failed to notice there was someone else in the kitchen until it was too late.

"Caleb?" His father said, wiping something from his mouth quickly and moving a step to the left to obscure something from his son's view. "What are you doing down here?"

Caleb froze. He had not planned to run into anyone, much less his father on his 4 am mission.

"I'm thirsty" Caleb said far too quickly for it to seem innocent, Realising his mistake he quickly said

"What are you doing here daddy?"

Jay froze and Caleb knew that his father had not expected to run into anyone else either

"Ummm….. Getting some water?" Jay offered as an excuse, moving even more to the left as Caleb walked further into the kitchen. Caleb looked at his father quizzically as he tried to see what he was trying to hide from him. There was a moment of tense silence before Jay sighed and silently, but jokingly cursed himself and Erin for deciding to have kids of their own.

"So Caleb, will that water come with a milk or white chocolate cookie?" Jaysaid as he moved away from the counter, revealing the cookies that he had just been snacking on. The familiar mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"Milk!" Caleb exclaimed excitedly pulling out a chair as his father lifted him up onto the kitchen island and offered him one of the forbidden cookies.

Jay laughed at the huge grin on Caleb's face as he helped himself to a white chocolate chip cookie, trying to even out the numbers so his wife wouldn't notice.

Jay leaned against the counter next to his son who was happily munching on his own sugary treat.

"Now we know the rules don't we Caleb?"

The three year old nodded as he swallowed his bit of cookie "Never ever never, under any circumstances tell mommy or my sisters" Caleb explained. "Like the time we went for ice cream when mommy took Ardy to the doctor"

"Good. And remember we don't tell mommy about that story either" Jay said and they both sat in a content silence, eating their way through their cookies.

When they had finished Jay tried to put the cookies back exactly where Erin had left them and Caleb wiped the table to get rid of crumbs. Father and son grinned at each other as they left the kitchen as neat and tidy as it was before their 4 am snack. Together they crept upstairs and to their respective beds, confident that Erin would never find out about their little meeting.

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"I know it, you're a hungry girl this morning, huh?" Erin soothed as she bounced a cranky Nora on her hip.

Nora whined and laid her head on Erin's shoulder, not one to like to wait on her meal.

"I know...I'm going to feed you..grumpy girl" Erin assured as she carried the almost one year old downstairs to the kitchen.

Erin walked into the kitchen and turned the light on before buckling Nora into her highchair.

"Mama!" Nora whined as Erin clipped the tray into place and she reached for her mother.

"I'm not going anywhere" Erin assured again. Nora's separation anxiety stage had set in and was worse than Everly and the twins' had ever been.

Erin walked over to the cubbard and pulled out a container of Cheerios before pouring out a few on Nora's high chair to keep the baby content until she could fix breakfast.

"No...no" Nora said as she shook her head.

Erin sighed and ran a hand through her baby daughter's hair. "Nora, you like Cheerios. They're yummy"

Nora sighed and took a handful of Cheerios and looked Erin in the eyes as she dropped them on the floor.

"Nora Grace...that's not nice" Erin said as she bent down to pick the cereal up off the floor.

Nora dropped another handful of cereal onto the floor. The sound of her giggles filled the quiet kitchen.

Erin sighed as she picked the cereal up off the floor. If Nora had been her and Jay's first, she'd never had any more kids. Her youngest kept she and Jay on their toes from the moment they'd brought her home from the hospital and even though she loved Nora more than llife, she was the reason they wouldn't be having another.

Erin walked over to the trash can to dump the cereal and furrowed her brown when her bare feet walked through something by the counter.

Erin, looked down at the floor and saw the trace of what could only be cookie crumbs and she looked back at the container of cookies on the island and walked over to it.

Just as Erin was about to open the tub of cookies to investigate, Jay came downstairs with Arden in his arms and Caleb wrapped around his back.

"Good morning, mommy!" Arden said happily as Jay sat her down on the floor and she made her way over to her baby sister.

"Good morning, Ardy" Erin said as she looked from her middle daughter over to her husband and son.

"You know what happens when you don't let go?" Jay asked as he reached around his back to grab Caleb tightly by the legs and pulled the three year old around him so that the little boy was upside down.

Caleb laughed as Jay carried him upside down and Kane, who had now joined the family in the kitchen, rushed over to where Jay was and started licking the little boy all over his face and neck.

"Kaney stop...Daddy...stop" Caleb laughed as Jay pulled him up right and sat him on his feet on the floor.

Jay noticed Erin lifting the container off the tub of the cookies and quickly walked over to where she was and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace for a deep good morning kiss.

Erin sighed as she wrapped her arms around Jay and leaned further into him as he kissed her.

The two slowly broke apart and Erin opened her eyes to look up at her husband.

"What was that for?" Erin asked she looked up at Jay.

"It's cause I wanted to kiss you" Jay said with a smile.

"Really?" Erin asked as she raised a brow at him skeptically.

"Yeah...and a thank you for all those new moves you learned last night. I don't know how you're still walking up right after last night" Jay teased as Erin smacked him on the shoulder.

"Stop" Erin said. "Don't thank me...Burgess is the one who took me to the party where I learned it"

"Ah, I'll have to remember that at the party today. I'll give her my personal thinks for showing me that after almost six years of marriage, my wife can still bend in ways I never knew were possible" Jay said with a raise of his brows.

"You went to the gym with Aunt Kimmy, mommy? Was Jack there...was it fun?" Arden asked as she looked up at her mother and father from her spot next to them.

Jay looked down at Arden before looking at Erin and then back down at his daughter.

"No, bug. This gym is for mommies and daddies only. You don't get to go to that. But funny enough, it's where you came from" Jay said with a smile.

"Jay Halstead. Stop" Erin warned as she narrowed her eyes at her husband. "Or the next gym you go to will be on your own...if you catch my drift"

"What's that mean?" Caleb asked as he walked over to see what the excitement was about.

"It's a secret" Jay said as he looked down at his son.

"I like secrets." Caleb said with a smile. "Like when we..."

"Alright!" Jay interrupted "Who wants pancakes?"

 **000000000000000**

Later in the afternoon, Jay had returned from picking up Everly from her sleepover at Hank and Olivia's while Erin got the kids ready for Owen's birthday party.

Erin grabbed the tubs off of the island and opened them to see at least five cookies missing from the tubs that she had told the rest of her family not to touch she turned to Caleb, sitting innocently at the table, swinging his legs back and forth as he kept his baby sister entertained while his mother got things ready to go to the birthday party.

"Caleb do you know what happened to the cookies?" She said looking at her son, who was suddenly very interested in his sister, a lot more so than he'd ever been since she was born.

She then looked to her husband, who was also suddenly very interested in the business news. She rolled her eyes, now with a very good idea of what happened to the cookies.

"Caleb, I asked you a question, what happened to the cookies?" she asked once again, looking into her son's eyes.

"I..." Caleb said as he looked away from Nora to his mommy.

Erin knelt down in the chair in front of Caleb and turned her to face him. "Caleb Henry, do you know what happened to the cookies that mommy had for the birthday party today?"

Caleb looked over at Jay who looked at him. He didn't want to get his daddy in trouble, but he didn't want to be in trouble either.

"Ummm….. the ninjas got them, mommy!" Caleb explained.

The sound of Jay's laugh from behind the newspaper wasn't helping with Erin's attempt to keep a straight face.

"Ninjas? I didn't see any ninjas Caleb" she said to the little boy in front of her, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice.

"Nobody ever sees mommy, thats why they're ninjas" He replied with a serious look on his young face. It took a lot for her not to laugh and stay serious.

The same could not be said for her husband who was chuckling openly. He took at quick drink of his coffee as soon as Erin glared disapprovingly at him.

"Well, I hope the ninja's know that it's not nice to tell lies and leave messes in the kitchen" Erin said as she stood up and made her way over to the counter.

Caleb looked at his father and then over at Erin. He loved his daddy, but he didn't want his mommy to be mad at him "Mommy..."

Jay stood from the table and walked over to where Caleb was. "Well, I'm sure that the ninja's are very sorry for what they did and that they know not to lie about big things. That sometimes ninjas are the only little boys in a house full of little girls and sometimes they deserve a few cookies"

Erin looked at Jay and then over at Caleb. It was so easy for her to forget that Caleb was in a house full of little girls and she sighed as she looked at her young son with a smile.

"Well, I did hear about some ninja's in the area. I'm just glad the ninjas didn't get into the other cookies that I made" Erin explained as she walked over to the pantry and pulled out two extra boxes of cookies she'd made and hidden.

"Look daddy!" Caleb said to his father "We could've eaten all the cookies!"

Jay sighed and shook his head at Caleb as Erin's laugh filled the kitchen.

Only her boys could drive her so crazy, and make her so happy.

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 **Please, Please, Please Review**


	12. You're Stealing Every Bit Of My Heart

**Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. I appreciate them. This is a request for an Erin and Caleb one shot.**

 **I hope that you like it.**

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Two and and a half year old Arden was not easily scared by any means. She was the twin to take the risks, to dive straight in where her older brother Caleb would hold back. She grabbed life by the horns and held on tight. Never thinking once about consequences.

She had been the one to not cry when they found the spider in the bathroom, the one to pet the vicious little rabbit at the pet store her twin brother wouldn't go near.

She had even been the first one to take a bite of her Aunt Natalie's questionable looking homemade spaghetti.

Arden was brave, there was no doubt about it. But the one thing that scared even Arden Halstead?

Thunderstorms.

The little girl lay on her small toddler bed, trying with all her might to ignore the storm raging overhead and sleep.

"I not scared…I not scared…I not scared" she whispered into her dark, empty room as she pulled her Frozen duvet closer and closer to her face, until only the top of her head and her wide brown eyes poked out.

She knew her father was telling the truth, there was no such thing as the thunder monster. But every time a loud rumble sounded all she saw was a huge green monster, gobbling up little boys and girls like her.

As it got later and later, and the house's usual creaks and groans got louder and louder, Arden's eyes continued to widen at every little noise.

She could just _feel_ the thunder monster coming closer. The rain continued to pound ruthlessly at her window and Arden sank further and further into her bed, holding Olaf her stuffed snowman with extraordinary strength for a child so small.

When the loudest rumble yet echoed around the house Arden had had enough. What if the thunder monster had eaten Caleb? She gathered all her courage and leapt out of her bed, sprinting across the hall and into Caleb's room.

Caleb's room was as dark as hers had been, so she ventured in nervously, careful not to bang into anything

"Caweb" she hissed "Caleb you 'wake?"

"Ardy?" came the soft reply and the girl sighed in relief. At least her brother hadn't been eaten up by the nasty monster.

"Caweb I fouts you gots eated by the big funder monster"

Arden walked further into the room, clutching Olaf to her chest as she stepped over Caleb's train set.

"Ardy da monster only eats bad kids, and we both ate all of our bwoccoli at dinner. It goin' get Evie first" Caleb assured his sister confidently, moving closer to the wall and leaving a nice Arden sized space next to him.

Caleb let out a few coughs and rubbed his eyes with his hands.

"You ok? You sick?" Arden asked as she climbed into bed next to her brother

"I ok" Caleb said as he laid back down on his pillow. Truth is, he really didn't feel well. But he wanted to be brave just like his sisters.

They both lay under the blue Paw Patrol bed spread listening to the storm overhead for a minute or two.

Caleb's eyes were drooping when Arden suddenly gasped and flung her arm onto her brother's. Her eyes wide in panic

"Caweb but we did do somefin naughty" she said anxiously, surveying the room incase the thunder monster heard her and decided to come in.

"When?" Caleb asked his sister, now sounding as scared as her. His

"We eated daddy's cake 'member" she cried, tears now falling down her little face "Caweb I don't wantsa get gobbled up!"

"Don't worry Ardy, I can pwotect you from the monster"

"But what if he gets you too!" Arden cried quietly, scared if she was too loud the monster would find them. Caleb thought about this for a moment with a look of concern on his face.

"Do you want to go to mommy and daddy?" Caleb asked his sister quietly " The funder monster won't get them 'cause they always good"

Arden knew that Caleb had a point. Their parents always ate all of their vegetables and always put toys back in the right boxes. The thunder monster wouldn't get them!

"Okay" she whispered and they both rose from Caleb's bed slowly. Hand in hand they walked to the door and poked their heads out. "But what bout' Evie?"

Caleb shook his head "It too wate for Evie. He gots her alweady cause she bad"

"She very bad" Arden agreed as the two got out of bed.

"I can't see the monster, can you Ardy?" Caleb asked as he reached for his sister's hand.

"No. It eated sissy" Arden explained as she tightened her grip on her brother's hand.

Caleb and Arden made their way down the hall and to the bedroom door before opening it.

The lights were still shining in Erin and Jay's bedroom, but the two were nowhere to be found. The sound of water running in the master bathroom caused Arden and Caleb to step towards the bathroom.

But a noise from the other side of the door stopped them both where they were.

"Oh No!" Arden said as she pulled Caleb back to her. "The monster gots mommy and daddy"

"Why?" Caleb asked.

"Cause da baby in mommy's tummy is bad. It makes mommy sick. And dats not nice" Arden explained tears once again filling her eyes.

"We gotsa be bwave tho" Caleb explained. "We can save daddy"

"You go" Arden said letting go of Caleb's hand and pulling Olaf close to her chest.

Caleb coughed and frowned as he looked at his sister and then at the bathroom door.

Caleb took an uneasy step towards the door and looked back at his sister before he reached the door and his small hand reached for the door knob.

Caleb closed his eyes tight as he twisted the knob and pushed the door open.

"Daddy?" Caleb's voice called out into the bathrrom.

He couldn't see anything behind the Opaque shower door, but he was sure that the monster was in there.

The sound of both his mother and father saying words that he was not supposed to say was followed by the opaque shower door sliding open and Jay sticking his head out of the crack in the door.

Caleb felt relief wash over him when he saw his daddy and he smiled before letting out a cough.

"Where mommy?" Arden asked as she walked up behind her brother and into the bathrrom.

"I'm right here, bug" Erin's voice called as she reached past her husband and stuck her arm out the shower door.

"Why you in der' wif mommy?" Arden asked her father as her little brow furrowed.

"Um..." Jay said as he looked at his daughter and then glanced back at his wife. "We're conserving water. When it rains...you have to save water and mommy and daddy were saving water"

"Ohhhhhh" Arden said with a nod. Fully believing her father's lie.

"I need mommy" Caleb said as he walked closer to the door.

"Wait buddy" Jay said holding his hand up.

"Go back to bed" Erin said as she searched for anything in the shower that would cover her nude form.

"No" Arden said "The monster goin get us"

Jay looked from the twins to his wife and then back to the twins. "Guys, we'll be out there in just a minute. Go sit on the bed and we'll be right out, ok?"

Caleb and Arden both nodded before walking out of the bathroom.

Jay pulled the door closed and looked back at his wife. "Remember how happy we were when they learned to walk?"

Erin nodded and smiled as she looked at Jay "And just think, we're six months away from a newborn"

Jay reached his hand down and ran it over just the faint swell of Erin's abdomen and smiled as he held his hand over the life that was currently growning inside of his wife.

"We need a deadbolt on our door" Jay said. Only half joking.

Erin sighed and looked up at her husband "We're just going to have to get more creative. I'm thinking work sex is our new thing"

"Mmm..." Jay said as he closed his eyes "I know you're joking, but I like that idea"

"Maybe one day" Erin laughed and stood up on her toes to give Jay one long, slow kiss before she stepped past him and out of the shower.

Erin quickly grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her before looking back at her husband.

"Are you coming?" Erin asked.

"I'm...I'm just going to need a minute" Jay explained from behind the closed shower door.

Erin quickly dressed and walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom where the twins were sitting on the bed.

Erin surveyed the scene in front of her. Her twins stood there hand in hand, hair ruffled and identical brown eyes wide with terror. She could see the tear tracks down Arden's face and immediately grew worried.

"What's wrong?" she asked with concern etched upon her face as a large rumble of thunder shook the house and Arden squeaked.

"The funder monster mama, it's going to get us!" Caleb explained as Jay joined Erin in the bedroom and took a seat on the bed next to Erin.

Erin lifted Caleb into the gap between herself and Jay. He crawled up and buried his face into his father's chest while Erin lifted Arden up into her arms. She wiped the tears from her daughter's face and wrapped her arms around Arden in protection.

A whimper escaped the little girl before she could stop it at the next roll of thunder and she pressed herself closer to her mother.

"You''ll pwotect us from the funder monster?" Caleb asked his mother gently from his place on Jay's lap.

"Daddy and I will protect you from anything and everything" Erin assured her son. He smiled and buried his face back into Jay's chest. His father continued to stroke his hair to comfortingly as he wrapped his arms protectively around him. The little boy suddenly felt a whole lot safer.

Arden smiled into her mothers chest while Erin rubbed soothing circles on her daughters back, slowly drifting off. Secure in the knowledge that her parents would protect her and her brother from anything, even the big, scary thunder monster.

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Erin woke with a start as she heard the cough echo through the house. Her gaze focused on the clock and the red lights that showed it to be 2:30 in the morning.

She looked into the direction of her son's room, knowing before she got there what she would see, her messy haired little boy, lying in bed with flushed cheeks, red puffy eyes and a cough so deep and hoarse it sounds like it should come from an old man, not a toddler

Erin quickly walked across the hall silently thankful that the storm from earlier in the night had passed over so she wouldn't have to worry about the "Thunder Monster" waking the kids.

"Are you okay. buddy?" Erin asked as she turned the light on and walked into Caleb's room.

"I not feel good mommy" Caleb told his mother hoarsely from his bed. He pushed himself up so he was leaning against the headboard of his toddler bed and closed his eyes, before turning his head to the wall as he coughed once more, making his whole body shake with the vibration.

Erin sighed sadly as she studied her son, if there was a bug to catch, Caleb would catch it. He always seemed to find something to upset his fragile immune system, causing him to be down for a day or two while Erin tried her hardest to get him back up again. It didn't matter how insignificant or small it was, Erin never liked to see any her children sick.

"I know sweetie" She said soothingly, running her hand through his brown hair. She pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, noting the heat and she frowned even more. "I'm going to go downstairs and get some medicine, it'll help"

Caleb made a face, remembering the horrible taste of the medicine from years past, but he made no fuss, which concerned Erin more than if he had. Sending one last worried look to her son she made her way across the room, narrowly avoiding the toys, clothes and books that were strewn haphazardly across his floor. She walked out into the corridor and nearly crashed into her pajama clad husband.

"What are you doing up?" Erin asked as she looked at Jay.

"Is everything okay?" Jay asked as he looked past her and into Caleb's room.

"Caleb's sick" Erin said as she looked back at her little boy in his bed.

"Want me to go in?" Jay asked as he looked down at her.

"No...I'll take care of it. You go back to bed" Erin assured.

"I'll go in and keep him compay until you get back" Jay said as he stepped passed Erin and into the doorway of Caleb's room.

"Thanks, Jay" Erin said as she watched her husband walk over to their little boy.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Jay asked as he sat down on Caleb's bed.

"Not feel good" Caleb explained as tears filled his eyes. "Where mommy?"

"She'll be right back bud. Can I sit with you until she brings your medicine back?" Jay asked as he raised his hand to press against Caleb's forehead.

"Okay..." Caleb's voice trailed off.

Caleb closed his eyes as he felt Jay touch his head gently. He loved his daddy and was glad that he was here. But he wanted his mommy. She was the one who always made him feel so much better when he was sick.

"You know I love you. You're my best friend" Jay said as he brushed the toddler's hairline with his fingers.

"I love you, too, Daddy. You my best fwind" Caleb said as he opened his eyes and gave his daddy a small smile.

"You have to get better. Remember you and daddy are going to go to Wisconsin and go fishing with Uncle Will and Owen" Jay explained.

"Me know. Gwanpa Hank go, too?" Caleb asked.

Jay laughed and shook his head "Yes, sadly. He's going too"

"It be fun" Caleb said. "Just the boys. No sissers awoud"

"No sisters allowed" Jay agreed.

Erin smiled as she backed slowly away from the door and made her way downstairs. After digging out the measuring cup from the back of the cupboard she walked upstairs quietly, and frowned when she walked into Caleb's room. Finding the toddler in tears and him and Jay covered in throw up.

"Mommy!" Caleb sobbed as he reached for his mother as Jay stripped the dirty pajamas off of the two year old.

"Oh no!" Erin said as she sat the medicine down on the dresser and made her way over to the bed and lifted her little boy out of the bed as he clung to her and sobbed.

Erin felt her stomach churn as her heightened sense of smell from pregnancy picked up the scent of throw up as it filled her nostrils and she exhaled as she tried to fight the wave of nausea that overtook her.

"Mommy!" Caleb sobbed as he held tighter to Erin.

"I know, buddy. Mommy's here" Erin soothed as she turned side to side with him and rubbed his back as she tried to calm him down.

"You take him...I'll clean this up" Jay explained as he stripped to his boxers and tossed his soiled clothes on the bed and gathered them up with the dirty sheets.

"Thanks Jay" Erin said as she carried Caleb to the bathroom.

Erin sat the little boy on the floor and turned the water on as the tub started to fill.

Caleb held tight to Erin as she stripped him out of his big boy underwear and lifted him into the luke warm water of the tub.

"Does your tummy hurt, buddy?" Erin asked as she reached into the bucket of toys beside the tub and grabbed a cup out of it as she started to pour the water over Caleb's fevered body in an effort to cool the little boy down.

"No...I cough and frowd up" Caleb explained.

"I saw that" Erin said as she Jay walked into the bathroom with the medicine in his hands.

"I put the sheets and our clothes in the washer. I'll go back and get them when they're done" Jay said as he shut the lid on the toilet and sat down.

"I sowee, daddy" Caleb said as he looked at his father.

"Don't be sorry buddy. You don't have to ever be sorry. Mommy and Daddy are going to make sure you get all better, ok?" Jay said as he opened the Children's Tylenol and filled the doppler up with the dosage before kneeling down next to Erin and giving his son the medicine.

Erin frowned again as she watched Caleb take the medicine without a fight and she gave her little boy a smile before reaching for the body wash to clean his tiny body.

"I'm going to go jump in the shower I'll be back" Jay said as he stood up and made his way out of the bathroom.

Erin let Caleb play in the water a few minutes as she waited for the medicine to take effect.

"You ready to get out, buddy?" Erin asked as she looked at her son.

"I am, mommy" Caleb said as he stood up.

Erin lifted the toddler out of the tub and sat him down on the tile floor as she dried him off and dressed him.

Caleb watched as his mommy drained the bahtub water and dried off the toys before tossing them in the tub beside her.

Caleb reached his hand out and touched Erin's belly gently. "Da baby's in dere?"

Erin placed her hand on top of Caleb's and smiled "Yeah, the baby's in there"

"It's not big" Caleb said.

"The baby still has a lot of growing to do. But it's almost as big as a prune" Erin explained.

"I not like prunes" Caleb said making a face.

Erin laughed and lifted Caleb up off of the floor. "You're silly"

Erin carried Caleb down to his room and she smiled when she saw new sheets on Caleb's bed and his dinosaur shaped humidifier filling the room with mist.

It was the little things that Jay did to help her out that made her fall more in love with him every day. He was her back up on and off the clock and she still never knew how she got so lucky.

Erin sat Caleb down on the bed and grabbed the Vicks BabyRub and gently lifted Caleb's pajama shirt as she rubbed it gently over his chest.

Once she was finished she pulled him up to sit on the bed and ran her fingers across his hairline. "How are you feeling, Caleb?"

"I ok" Caleb assured as he let out a cough.

Erin smiled sadly and lifted him up off the bed and carried him over to the oversized chair by his bedroom window. She reached down and grabbed the dinosaur blanket off the back of the chair and draped the blanket over Caleb as she wrapped him up in her arms and started to rock.

"Mommy..." Caleb's voice trailed off as he curled against Erin's chest.

"What is it, buddy?" Erin asked as she rocked with him in the glider.

"Will you sing to me?" Caleb's sweet voice asked. "Our song...pwease?"

Erin smiled as she placed a kiss on top of Caleb's head. "Our song? You want me to sing our song?"

Caleb nodded against Erin's chest and started to relax as he listened to the sound of his mother's heart beating in her chest."Yeah"

Erin ran her hand up and down Caleb's back as she looked out the window and softly started to sing.

 _"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away..."_

Erin felt Caleb's body relax against hers and she looked down to find him asleep against her chest.

She felt tears stinging her eyes as she looked down at the sweet boy in her arms. The love that she had for this boy was soul consuming. And being a mother was the greatest gift she'd ever been given. Even on romantic interrupted nights with her husband because of the "Thunder Monster" or a sick child. There was nothing she wanted more than to be right where she was in this moment.

Erin felt his gaze on her. She didn't have to look up to know that Jay was watching her.

"How did we get this lucky?" Erin asked her voice just above a whisper as she kept her eyes on Caleb's face.

"I ask myself that all the time" Jay said as he walked over to where Erin was and knelt down next to her.

"Sometimes I think about how long I waited for you and how I ran from how I felt about you for so long. I was afraid for so long because of how you loved me. Nobody has ever loved me like that. I think about if I hadn't finally let you in that I wouldn't be here. Right here...and this...it's everything I've ever wanted. This boy...and our girls...our new edition...and you" Erin whispered as she looked down at Caleb's sleeping face.

Jay smiled and moved up to kiss Erin's temple. "We took our time getting here. But we're here baby. And nobody deserves a life like this more than you. The best wife and mother that three...soon to be four kids could ever have. I'm the lucky one"

Erin raised her gaze from her sweet son's sleeping face and met the eyes of her husband and he gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

"I love you, Jay" Erin whispered

"I love you, Erin Halstead. You're my girl and you always will be" Jay assured "Do you want me to take him? So you can get some rest?"

Erin shook her head as she wrapped her arms tighter around Caleb's sleeping form.

"No. I just want to hold him forever. He doesn't let me do it that much anymore and I want to soak it up as much as I can get it" Erin confessed.

Jay smiled and stood and stood the rest of the way "I'll go put those sheets in the dryer and I'll be back"

Ten minutes later Jay walked back up the stairs and looked inside Caleb's bedroom. He smiled softly at the sight of his wife and son both asleep in the glider before he grabbed a blanket out of the hall closet and silently walked in Caleb's room and covered his wife and son up and quietly gave his own thanks for being so blessed.

 **Please Review**


	13. There's No Such Place As Neverland

**Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. I'm really glad that you guys liked it.**

 **And I hope that you like this one as well.**

 **It's a request for the boys fishing trip mixed with a request for a health scare.**

 **Hope you like it.**

 **I don't own "** The Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams

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Caleb took a bite out of his peanut butter and Jelly sandwich. "Daddy, I don't think we are gonna catch anything." he sighed as he sat between his father's legs and leaned against his chest.

Hank nodded and tugged yet again at his life vest. "The boy is right, Jay, it's getting late and we haven't caught anything. It's been a disaster so far. " he sighed.

"Does that mean we can go, dad?" Noah asked from his place beside Hank.

"In a little while, Noah" Hank answered.

"It takes time. We've only been out here for an hour" Jay said.

"I'm just glad to be up here away from Natalie for a few days" Will said as he took a long drink of his beer.

"I find that hard to believe" Jay said as he looked over at his brother.

"I don't know, Jay. This pregnancy is different. She's evil as hell this time. Jägerbomb's and conception don't mix" Will sighed

"What's a Jagerbomb, daddy?" Owen asked as he looked up from his fishing pole.

"It's not for you to worry about. Only grown ups get to have them" Will explained.

"But what is it?" Owen asked.

"It's juice for grown ups" Will explained "Eat your sandwich"

"Mommy isn't mean, she nice" Owen explained.

"I'm full" Caleb said as he sat his half eaten sandwich down on the plastic bag it came in.

"You didn't eat much, buddy" Jay said as he looked down at Caleb's lunch.

"I full" Caleb said again.

"You feeling ok, buddy?" Hank asked. "You need to eat, it's yummy"

Caleb picked up the rest of his sandwich and held it up for Hank "You can eats it, papaw"

Hank smiled and shook his head. "No, my boy, you finish it." he replied more gently.

Noah, not one to like his father's attention on someone else, pulled back on his fishing rod.

"Daddy! Look what I got!" Noah said as he realed in a clump of grass and flowers from the lake.

"Good job, buddy" Hank praised his son "You gave it a really good try"

"Papaw?" Caleb said "Did I do good?"

"You're doing great, Caleb" Hank assured and Caleb smiled as he leaned back against Jay's chest.

Noah frowned at the interaction between Caleb and his daddy.

"You talk to your daddy, Caleb. This is my daddy" Noah informed.

Caleb frowned and looked at Noah. "He my papaw"

"My daddy" Noah said as he stepped on the other side of Hank so that he was between Hank and Jay and he put his hands protectively on Hank's legs.

"Noah, you have to be nice or we're going to go back to the cabin. Caleb knows I'm your dad" Hank explained.

"He needs to go back to his house. He visited enough" Noah explained.

"Noah, that's enough" Hank scolded.

"It's ok, Hank" Jay assured.

"Maybe Noah wouldn't be so confused if you didn't take Erin and my grandkids and move all the way to Virginia" Hank said as he cleaned off Noah's fishing pole and casted it back out into the lake.

"Still with the guilt trips? You know that we come back and visit whenever we can" Jay said.

"Whatever you say, Jay" Hank said.

A covered laugh on the other side of Jay caused him to turn his head and look at his brother. "Shut up, Will"

Will bit back a smile as he looked at his brother "I'm sorry man, it's just I rarely get to see Hank drag your ass and it's great. It really is"

"Shut up, Will" Jay said again.

"Makes me glad Nat's parents live across the country" Will said as he took another drink of his beer.

Caleb reeled his line back in and looked up at Jay. "Daddy, help"

Jay looked down at Caleb and pulled Caleb back to him. "What happened, buddy?"

"Broken" Caleb said as he looked at Jay and down at the broken line of his fishing pole.

"Daddy can fix that" Jay said as he quckly untangled the line and handed it back to Caleb.

"Thank you, daddy" Caleb said.

"You ready?" Jay asked as he pulled Caleb's hand that was holding the pole back.

"Me am" Caleb said as he stepped back against Jay's chest.

"One...twe...three" Jay said as he gently pushed his and Caleb's hand forward and cast the line out into the lake.

"So, Jay what's your plan for when Erin has this baby?" Hank asked.

"What do you mean?" Jay asked.

"Are you coming back up here? This is where her doctors are and where the twins and Everly were born" Hank explained.

"She found a doctor in Virginia that she likes. And I still have a few more years on my contract. We'll make it work" Jay explained.

"You're going to make four kids under six work in Virginia on your own?" Hank asked.

"Hank, we've had this discussion. Erin's working down there and she likes what she's doing and the kids are happy. We visit as much as we can and you guys know you're welcome down in Virginia whenever you want to come. I don't know how much easier that Erin and I can make it" Jay sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I just think that Erin would be better off up here once the new baby comes" Hank said

"Well, I appreciate your opinion, but we're happy where we are. And I didn't come up here to fight about this" Jay shot.

"So, what's the plan for when we head back?" Will asked "I mean, as much fun as this long weekend has been...I can do without the family drama"

"Lets stay for another hour and then head home" Jay said

"Alright." Will said as he stood up. "I'm going to head back in the cabin and make sure that we didn't forget anything when we packed"

"I come too" Owen said.

"Alright, O" Will said as he gathered up their fishing equipment and lifted Owen up onto his back as the two made their way off to the cabin.

Caleb looked over at Hank and smiled "You sad, papaw?"

"No buddy, I'm fine" Hank assured.

"Your Grandpa, is just being a cranky old man, Caleb." Jay said

Hank glared at his son in law and shook his head. "You don't know anything, Jay"

Jay sighed and looked at Hank "What's wrong with you this weekend? First you're pissed because Erin and the girls didn't come up from Virginia, and you've been in a bad mood since we've been in Wisconsin. For someone to want to see us so badly, you're sure not acting like it"

"Like you care, Jay" Hank said.

"I'm trying to help you out here, Hank. You want to grill me about what Erin and I are going to do when this baby comes, but yet I'm not allowed to ask you anything? Why?" Jay asked as he felt his anger rising.

"I went to the doctor with LIv the other day. Didn't get such good news" Hank explained.

"What do you mean?" Jay asked.

"Turns out my heart isn't functioning very well. I know, it's hard to believe that I even have one, but without surgery, I'm probably not going to be around to see any of you" Hank said quietly so that Noah wouldn't hear what they were talking about.

"Well, when do you get this fixed?" Jay asked.

"I'm not really sure that they can fix it. Or if I even want it fixed" Hank explained.

"Hank..." Jay started

"What do you want from me, Jay? I've lived a good life" Hank said "Maybe everyone would be better off. Look at it this way, something happens to me, you don't have to worry about ever coming back up to visit"

"You know that's not what it's like, Hank" Jay said "And what about Liv? What does she think?"

"She wants me to have the surgery. But I'm not as young as I used to be and let's be honest, Liv could do better" Hank said.

"What about Erin? Jay said "How do you think she'd feel about it?"

"Well, I don't plan on telling her" Hank said "Erin will be fine"

Jay felt some strange emotion come over him at the thought of the man who was basically his wife's father, dying.

"Don't be so damn stubborn. You need to cut the people don't want me around shit. You've got a responsibility to your family to take care of yourself. A responsibility to Noah and to my kids to be around. So if you need help, you're going ot get it"

"Well, for a second, you actually put on that you cared about me, Jay" Hank said as he kept his eyes out on the lake.

"You can't die, Hank. Erin would never recover from it. None of us would..." Jay said

"I want to go on my terms, Jay" Hank said "I don't want medical intervention if something were to go wrong. I don't want to spend what's left of my life as a burden to those around me" Hank explained. "I don't want that for my wife and I don't want that for my family"

"Then do what your doctor is suggesting. It's just a little bypass surgery. They do them all day every day" Jay said.

"I'll think about it" Hank said.

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Three days of continuous heavy rain had turned the garden into a swamp. Erin was certain the poor tomatoes she had so carefully planted last month wouldn't stand a chance. But more importantly, three days of continuous heavy rain was gradually driving a hormonal and pregnant Erin crazy.

"Girls!" she protested as the shouts from the living room slowly increased in volume. The made up princess game was causing her some grief.

"Mommy, we're bored." Everly complained as she wandered into the kitchen.

"Have you finished your game?" Erin asked

"Arden thinks she hasta be Elsa all the time. It's not fair. I wanna be Elsa. I don't wanna play anymore" She shrugged

Erin sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "Ev, she's two. Just let her be Elsa. You can be Belle, you love Belle"

Everly shook her head "Only when daddy plays wif me, cause he dances wif me. And it's too cold for Belle in Arendelle, mommy"

Erin turned away from the counter she was cleaning and looked at her older daughter.

"Well, excuse me. Mommy didn't know"

Everly shook her head and frowned. "When's daddy and Caleb coming home?"

"Tonight" Erin answered

"Why couldn't we go wif them?" Everly asked as she walked over to the counter and reached for the bag of mini doughnuts on top of the counter.

"Because it's for boys only" Erin said as she quickly walked behing Everly and grabbed the doughnut bag before her daughter could get it. "No, you didn't eat your lunch, you don't get junk food"

"No fair" Everly sighed "I want one"

"Well, I wanted you to eat your grilled cheese and you didn't. Go play with your sister"

"Wanna play game of life with me?"

"I've got to clean the basement, but maybe later. Why don't you play with Arden?" She asked as she wiped down the counter tops.

"No! Evie not nice." Arden all but wailed in protest from the other room. Erin sighed heavily and looked desperately out the window, willing the rain to stop so she could send the girls out to run and scream off any energy they had.

She cursed her luck, of course it rained when Everly was off school, Arden was terrible twoing it, her husband and son were gone and her morning sickness was at it's worst.

Erin had done everything she could think of to keep her daughters entertained, but she was finally at her wits end and willing to break a rule and let them watch TV.

"How about you watch a movie then?" She said finally, unable to think of anything better for them to do. She walked into the living room and looked at the neatly ordered shelf of DVDs. "What do you want to watch?"

"Frozen" Arden said as she grabbed her Olaf snowman and climbed up on the couch

"No, not Frozen!" Everly replied, shaking her head furiously. "Nemo!"

"Yes Frozen!" Arden argued. "Pwese mommy"

"No mommy. Please" Everly said

Erin sighed as she looked between her two daughters "How about mommy picks something"

"Okay" Everly and Arden agreed as Everly climbed up on the couch by her sister.

 **000000000000000**

After putting the movie on and giving the girls a bowl of popcorn Erin went downstairs to tackle the mess that was their basement toy room. She left her girls sprawled through the living room, promising that she would soon be finished and could play with them, and got to work.

Which is exactly why she didn't hear them strut outside into the rain.

"Mommy's gonna be mad!"Arden informed her big sister with a frown on her face.

"Ardy, let's just go play" Everly encouraged as she stepped out onto the porch. "Shut the door so mommy doesn't hear"

Arden sighed and did as her big sister said. They stood on the porch for a moment and watched the sheets of rain pouring from the murky grey Virginia sky.

"Let's go!" Everly said, jumping down the porch stairs and into the mud. She slipped a little and held her hands out to balance herself. Grinning at her accomplishment she turned towards her little sister, who now had an impish grin on her face.

"Hurry Ardy!" She flicked her wet hands at her little sister, who let out a shout and jumped out into the rain after her.

"Watch dis!" Arden yelled as she scooped some mud off the ground and flung it at Everly, laughing when it hit her square in the back.

"Ardy!" Everly yelled as she looked at her muddy shirt. Everly bent down and picked up some mud as she spoke.

"My turn." Everly said as she picked up some mud

"No!" scoffed Arden as he started to inch back, just a bit fearful. "I tell mommy"

Arden ducked as the mud flew squarely over her head.

"Damn it," muttered Everly.

"Dat a bad word" Arden started to laugh at her sister, her brown eyes dancing mischievously. "Mommy and daddy can onwee say dat"

Mud struck Arden right in her face, spluttering, she wiped it off and frowned before pulling her sister to the ground.

Erin knew exactly where the shrieks where coming from when she emerged from the basement. She really should have expected it, those two were nothing but trouble, especially when they were bored.

She marched over to the back doors and stuck her head outside, just as Arden slapped a handful of mud onto Everly's cheek.

"HEY!" She yelled, making both of them jump about a foot in the air and look at each other in panic. "What the hell do you two think you are doing?!"

The pair of them were covered head to toe in mud, their hair, their clothes, their shoes were all filthy. She glared at them, waiting for an answer.

"Oh my God", a second voice said from behind her and she turned to see her husband and son, both dripping wet from their trek from the car to the front door. "What is going on out here?"

Everly almost hung her head, not willing to make eye contact with either of her parents.

Erin walked out onto the porch and glared at the pair, trying to fight back a smile. She was furious with them, but she would be lying if she said they didn't look hilarious.

"What made you think this was a good idea?" Erin demanded, staring angrily at them.

"Evie made me!" Arden burst out

"You lyin!" Everly bellowed

"If Everly said jump off a cliff, would you?" Jay asked, winking at his wife, just barely biting back a smirk.

"Sisters dirty" Caleb said as he watched from the doorway. Jealous that he wasn't in the mud with them

Erin carefully stepped down onto the grass, moving closer to her daughters.

Arden looked pleadingly over at her father, willing him to intervene before her mother could get too angry.

So she did what she knew Jay would want them to do. She threw herself at her mother, making Erin shriek, as she wrapped her arms around her and jumped up to smack a muddy kiss to her cheek.

"I love you Mommy" Arden said with a grin.

Before she could register what was happening Erin had four muddy arms wrapped tightly around her, set on pulling her into the mud.

Jay laughed as he watched his wife shriek and squirm as she tried to avoid the mud. But it was no use, as Caleb came running down the back steps and grabbed his mommy by the back of the legs and pulled her down on the ground into the mud.

"Guys!" Jay called with a lopsided grin on his face "That is NO WAY to treat your mother! Er, baby...I'm sorry".

"Shut up, Jay" Erin said as she stood up from the mud as her three kids were now covered in the mess.

Jay laughed as he watched his three kids playing in the mud as he moved off the porch. He wasn't even paying attention as he felt his wife wrap her arms around him and pull him into a muddy hug.

"Hey what did I do?" Jay exclaimed, as he pulled back from his wife and looked at his clothes that were now muddy from the Summer rain.

"You encourage them. And I missed you while you were gone"

"I missed you too" Jay said as he dropped his head to kiss her.

"How was Wisconsin?" Erin asked "Hank and everyone okay?"

Jay forced a smile as he looked down at his wife "It was good. Hank misses you. So he had to give his typical smart ass roasts when we talked"

Erin saw Jay's expression change when her husband talked about Hank and she made a note to ask him about it later. Figuring that the two men were still arguing over her all these years later.

"Are you sure you had fun?" Erin asked.

"Yeah...but we'll have to talk later, Ok?" Jay said.

"What is it?" Erin asked

"Later" Jay assured.

"Ok..." Erin's voice trailed off

Jay wasn't sure how he was going to tell Erin about Hank, but he knew he needed to, Maybe she'd ba able to convince him that he was worth stickning around.

"How were things here?" Jay asked.

"Well, I'm sure you can see exactly how things were" Erin said as she gestured behind her.

"And how is this little one?" Jay asked as he pressed his hand to her stomach.

"Well, he or she is in this phase where I'm only allowed to eat Slim Jims and microwave popcorn" Erin said with a smile.

"A kid after my own heart" Jay teased.

Arden, Caleb and Everly looked at each other with identical, devilish grins before jumping on top of them, successfully covering both their parents in mud.

"Shower" Erin shouted over the thundering rain. "Shower now!"

She got up off her husband and guided the twins and Evie to the back porch. The three stripped down to their underwear and Jay turned the hose on them, ignoring their shrieks.

"Daddy, it's cold" Everly yelped, trying to get behind her brother and sister avoid the cold streams of water that were much different than the warm summer rain.

"In the house, now" Erin demanded, sending them upstairs.

"I'm going to kill them" Erin muttered with a shake of her head picking up the soaking wet, originally white t-shirt that Arden had donned that morning. "This is your fault".

"How!" Jay cried and he picked up Caleb and Everly's clothes

"No kids of mine would ever run out in the mud, this is _all_ your influence" Erin shook her head in disapproval, making Jay laugh. He squeezed the nozzle on the hose once more, drenching his wife in cold water and making her bellow

"Jay!" Erin screamed as she turned away from her husband.

"Sorry. My hand slipped" Jay laughed as he watched his wife walk in the house and close the door behind her.

 **000000000000000**

 _"Why, he looks just like my old Bunny that was lost when I had scarlet fever!" But he never knew that it really was his own Bunny, come back to look at the child who had first helped him to be Real"_

"The End" Erin said as she closed the book of The Velveteen Rabbit.

She looked between her three kids who were laying beside her on Everly's bed sound asleep.

Erin looked up and saw Jay standing in the doorway watching her and she smiled as she quietly slipped out of bed and made her way over to where her husband was.

Erin wrapped her arms around Jay and pulled him in for a long, slow kiss as she sighed and relaxed against his body.

"What was that for?" Jay asked as Erin pulled away from him and looked at him.

"I just realized I didn't get to give you a welcome home kiss in all the chaos that happened when you got home" Erin explained as she looked back at the kids asleep on the bed.

"Want to help me put them to bed?" Erin asked.

"Not yet. Let's talk first" Jay said as he pulled Erin by the hand and into the living room.

"Jay...what's going on?" Erin asked.

"Baby, you should sit down" Jay said as he let go of her hand.

"Why?" Erin asked.

"Erin, I just think you should sit down" Jay said as he took a seat on the couch.

"What's wrong?" Erin asked immidiate dread filling her as she looked at her husband.

"When we were in Wisconsin...Hank and I...we had an arguement" Jay started.

"Jay, you two always argue. What else is new?" Erin teased.

"Hank's sick, baby" Jay said.

"What?" Erin asked.

"It's his heart" Jay explained. "They want him to have bypass surgery. But he's not sure if he wants to do it"

"Why not?" Erin asked "Of course he has to do it"

"That's what I told him and he said he doesn't want to be a burden to anyone" Jay explained.

"Well. He's not" Erin said as she stood from the couch. "I have to pack. I need to get to Chicago"

"Erin" Jay said as he stood and followed his wife "We'll figure it out in the morning. It's getting late"

"No...I have to go" Erin said as she walked into their bedroom and grabbed her suitcase from the closet.

"Erin...stop" Jay said as he watched her start to grab clothes and throw them into her bag.

"You should've called me. You shouldn't have waited so long to tell me" Erin said as she fought back tears as she packed. "Why didn't you call me?"

"Erin...he told me not to. He's not made a decision on what he's going to do yet. You can't force him to get treated, baby" Jay explained. "Please...don't get yourself upset"

Erin shook her head as the tears fell freely. "He can't die, Jay"

Jay sighed sadly as he walked over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her "He's not going to die, Erin"

"He's the only dad I've ever had and he's never going to know how much I need him" Erin cried into Jay's chest.

"He knows, Erin. And trust me. Tomorrow, we will get everything sorted out. You can call Hank and you two can talk and I'll get you to Chicago if I have to take you on a bicycle" Jay assured.

Erin nodded as she continued to cry into Jay's chest "He's my dad, Jay"

Jay nodded and placed a kiss on top of Erin's head "I know he is baby. And we're going to make sure that he gets the help that he needs"

Erin sighed as she started to calm down. And in that moment she clung to the words that her husband soothed her with.

Hank would be ok...

He had to be.

 **000000000000000**

 **Please Review**


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